n 

A                                                                                           ' 

MANUAL 

,                                                                             CONTAINING 

1 

INFORMATION  RESPECTING  THE  GROWTH 

OF    THE                                                                           * 

* 

MULBERRY   TREE, 

!                                   WITH    SUITABLF    DIRECTIONS 

FOR    THE 

CULTURE    OF    SILK. 

IN    THREE    PARTS. 

1 

I 

'                               BY    J.    H.COBB,    AM. 

PUBLISHED    BY   DIRECTION   OF    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GOV.   LINCOLN, 

A 

^ 

AG 

REEABLY    TO    A    RESOLVE    OF    THE    COMMO" WEALTH. 

Ostendens  hujus  moneris  u;iim. 

VxAa  ih  Bombyx. 

NEW  EDITION. 

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THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  DATE 
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JECT TO  AN  OVERDUE  FINE  AS 
POSTED  AT  THE  CIRCULATION 
DESK. 


OCT  3  0  1985 
OCT  0  4  1989 


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,DEC. 


^ 


lOOM/l-77 


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in  2009  with  funding  from 

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http://www.archive.org/details/manualcontainingOOcobb 


pJjATJE  jr. 


// ^c^/l^         MANUAL 


j^-y^'^ 


u  A*7 


CONTAINING 


INFORMATION  RESPECTING  THE   GROWTH 

OF    THE 

MULBERRY     TREE, 

WITH 

SUITABLE    DIRECTIONS 

FOR    THE 

CULTURE    OF     SILK. 

IN   THREE    PARTS. 

Bt    J.    H.    COBB,    A.    M, 

PUBLISHED  BY  DIRECTION  OF  HIS  EXCELLENCY  GOV.  LINCOLN, 
AGREEABLY    TO    A    RESOLVE   OF    THE    COMMONWEALTH. 


Ostendens  hujus  muneris  usum. 

Vida  in  Bombyx. 


NEW      EDITION. 


BOSTON: 
CARTER,    HEN  DEE    AND    CO. 

M    DCCC    X±XIII.  /If    3    i. 

D.  H.  HILl  LIBRARY 
N.  C.  STATE  UNIVERSITY 


*       t 


»*•''»•  » . 


I.    R.    BUTTS,  SCHOOL   STREET,   BOSTON. 


INTRODUCTION 


HOUSE  OF    REPRESENTATIVES. 

Thursday,  Feb.  24,  1831. 
Mp.  Wheeler,  from  the  Committee  on  Agriculture, 
who  were  instructed   to  consider  the  expediency  of  en- 
couraging the  growth  of  the  Mulberry  Tree,  and  the 
Culture  of  Silk,  made  the  following 

REPORT. 

The  Committee  have  examined  the  subject  attentively, 
and  find  it  to  be  of  much  greater  importance  than  was  at  first 
supposed.  They  are  surprised  to  find  hnw  great  a  field  is 
here  open,  and  how  long  it  has  been  neglected ;  they  are 
satisfied  beyond  a  doubt,  that  we  have  the  power  to  produce 
and  manufacture  Silk  in  this  Commonwealth  to  an  immense 
extent,  and  that  no  difficulty  is  to  be  encountered  either  from 
soil  or  climate. 

The  nations  of  Europe  are  generally  engaged  in  the  cul- 
ture and  manufacture  of  silk.  France,  more  than  any  other 
nation,  derives  her  power  and  resources  mainly  from  this 
branch  of  her  industry;  her  example  has  induced  England, 


ri  INTRODUCTION. 

Holland,  Germany,  Prussia  and  Sweden  to  engage  with  zeal 
in  the  same  pursuit. 

The  culture  of  silk  is  important  in  relation  to  the  amount  of 
silk  imported  and  consumed  in  this  country,  which  exceeds 
seven  millions  of  dollars,  while  the  amount  of  bread  stuff 
exported  is  on  the  average  less  than  six  millions  of  dollars  ! 
Facts  like  these  need  no  comment ;  yet  it  is  proper  that  we 
should  bear  in  mind,  that  the  vast  sums  thus  expended  for 
silk  in  its  various  forms,  arc  paid  indirectly  to  enrich  the 
Agriculture  and  manufacture  of  other  nations,  the  raw  mate- 
rial of  which  may  be  produced  here  with  as  much  certainty 
as  cotton  or  any  other  staple  product. 

The  article  of  silk  has  already  been  produced  by  a  few  of 
our  citizens  in  small  quantities,  of  a  quality  not  inferior  to  the 
best  imported.  Jonathan  H.  Cobb,  Esq.  ofDedham,  has  com- 
menced the  culture  of  silk  with  success,  and  has  introduced 
some  valuable  improvements,  especially  in  the  art  of  reeling 
from  the  cocoon,  and  it  is  due  to  that  gentleman,  that  the 
Committee  should  remark,  that  it  is  from  practical  information 
communicated  by  him,  that  they  have  derived  some  important 
facts  in  relation  to  this  subject. 

The  state  of  society  in  this  Commonwealth  is  well  adapt- 
ed to  promote  the  successful  culture  of  silk :  it  is  an  em- 
ployment, in  which  females  and  children  may  be  honorably 
and  profitably  engaged  ;  with  the  exception  of  planting  the 
Mulberry  tree,  the  Avhole  labor  may  be  performed  by  that 
class  of  the  community.  The  Committee  feel  warranted  in 
saying  that  so  soon  as  the  article  can  be  produced,  a  good 
home  market  will  be  found  at  such  prices  as  to  aftbrd  a  profit 


INTRODUCTION.  VU 

on  the  expense  and  labor  bestowed  upon  it.  The  White 
Mulberry  tree  is  easily  cultivated,  does  not  require  the  best 
soil,  serves  a  valuable  purpose  for  hedges,  and  is  highly  or- 
namental. 

The  Committee  are  satisfied  that  little  capital  is  required 
to  commence  the  culture  ofsilk,  except  that  capital  which  con- 
sists in  knowledge.  It  is  information  which  is  the  founda- 
tion of  Agriculture,  as  well  as  other  arts.  Nothing  is  so  well 
calculated  to  call  the  attention  of  the  public  to  this  subject  as 
information  respecting  its  value,  and  the  means  by  which 
our  citizens  may  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages  which 
are  connected  with  it  ;  for  the  purpose  of  disseminating  this 
information  the  Committee  have  thought  it  their  duty  to  re- 
port the  following  resolution. 

Which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

For  the  Committee,  Abel  Wheeler,  Chairman. 


House  of  Representatives,  Feb.  24, 1S31. 
Resolved,  That  his  Excellency  the  Governor  be  requested 
to  cause  to  be  compiled  and  printed  a  concise  Manual,  to 
contain  the  best  information  respecting  the  growth  of  the 
Mulberry  tree,  wilh  suitable  directions  for  the  culture  of 
Silk,  —  and  that  this  manual  be  distributed  in  suitable  num- 
bers in  the  city  of  Boston,  and  to  every  town  in  the  Common- 
wealth.—That  to  defray  the  expense  thus  incurred,  he  be 
authorized  to  draw  his  warrant  on  the  treasury  for  a  sum  not 
exceeding  six  hundred  dollars. 
1* 


ADVERTISEMENT  TO  THIS  EDITION. 


Since  the  publication  of  the  former  edition  of  this  little 
work,  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  having  farthernoticed 
it  by  ordering  an  additional  number  of  copies  to  be  purchas- 
ed for  further  distribution  in  the  different  towns  of  this  Com- 
monwealth ;  and  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  having 
also  resolved  to  purchase  2000  copies  for  distribution  in  that 
honorable  body  ;  the  author  has  thought  it  his  duty  to  enlarge 
the  present  edition  by  giving  such  further  information  as  he 
could  obtain  ;  and,  as  late  experience  has  suggested,  both  in 
regard  to  the  Mulberry  tree  and  the  cultivation  and  manufac- 
ture of  silk.  He  has  now  in  operation  all  the  requisite  ma- 
cihnery  for  manufacturing  various  kinds  of  silk  stuffs,  and  has 
manufactured  during  the  past  year  over  three  hundred  weight 
of  raw  silk,  and  still  continues  to  operate  his  looms  and  spin- 
dles, although  since  the  repeal  of  the  duties  on  silk  goods,  he 
has  been  obliged  to  confine  his  attention  chiefly  to  sewings 
and  such  narrow  goods  as  will  sell  to  profit. 


PREFACE 


In  preparing  this  Manual  the  author  has  been  guided 
by  the  personal  experience  which  he  has  had  for  several 
years  in  the  culture  of  the  Mulberry  Tree  and  rearing  of 
Silk  Worms  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts. 

In  addition  to  the  instruction  which  his  own  practical 
knowledge  in  the  business  has  suggested,  he  has  made 
use  of  the  following  works,  from  some  of  which  he  has 
made  considerable  extracts,  where  he  found  the  instruc- 
tion conveyed  was  such,  as  from  the  test  of  experience 
he  could  recommend,  viz. — The  Manual  published 
under  the  authority  of  Congress  ;  the  two  first  numbers 
of  the  Silk  Culturist,  by  Dr  Felix  Pascalis,  of  New  York  ; 
Mr  Wm.  H.  Vernon's  abridgment  of  the  large  French 
work  of  M.  de  la  Brousse  ;  Essays  on  American  Silk,  by 
Messrs  D'Homergue  and  Du  Ponceau,  of  Philadelphia  ; 
a  pamphlet  published  by  Gideon  B,  Smith,  Esq.  of  Bal- 
timore, and  the  •22d  No.  of  Dr  Lardner's  Cabinet  Cyclo- 
pedia,    The  author  tenders  his  thanks  to  several  of  the 


X  PREFACE. 

above-named  gentlemen  for  the  liberty  which  they  have 
permitted  him  to  take,  as  also  for  many  personal  com- 
munications on  important  branches  of  the  business, 
which  they  have  suggested  to  him  in  the  short  interviews 
he  has  had  with  them.  From  two  of  these  gentlemen,  of 
the  highest  respectability,  he  has  received  the  subjoined 
testimonials. 

Philadelphia,  27th  June,  1831. 

Dear  Sir  —  I  have  read  with  great  satisfaction  the 
Manual  for  the  Culture  of  Silk  which  you  have  prepared  by 
order  of  His  Excellency  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  in 
pursuance  of  a  resolution  of  your  State  Legislature,  and  am 
well  pleased  Avith  the  manner  in  which  you  have  treated  the 
subject.  Availing  myself  of  the  permission  you  have  given 
me,  I  have,  with  the  aid  of  Mr  D'Homergue,  taken  the 
liberty  to  suggest  a  few  ideas  on  the  blank  leaves  of  the 
manuscript,  of  which  you  will  make  what  use  you  shall  think 
proper. 

The  works  of  foreign  writers  on  the  cultivation  of  mulberry 
trees  and  raising  of  silk  worms,  particularly  in  the  latter, 
are  by  no  means  suited  to  the  meridian  of  this  country,  and 
are  rather  calculated  to  discourage  than  instruct  our  farmers. 
You  have  with  great  propriety  discarded  their  artificial  heat, 
thermometers,  barometers,  hygrometers,  and  all  their  variety 
of  troublesome  methods,  minute  regulations  and  useless  im- 
plements, which  make  the  culture  of  silk  a  difficult  and  in- 
tricate science.  I  see  no  more  difficulty  in  cultivating  the 
mulberry  than  any  other  fruit  tree  ;  and  the  art  of  raising 
silk  worms  seems  to  reduce  itself  to  a  few  simple  rules  easy 
of  observance.  1  know  but  of  one  European  author  who  has 
had  the  courage  to  break  through  the  fetters  of  habit  and 
prejudice  ;  and  in  a  late  work  on  the  culture  of  silk  published 
in  the  German  language  at  Vienna  in   1829,  adopted  what  I 


XI 


call  the  American  System,  the  same  which  your  Manual 
recommends,  and  which  in  fact,  has  been  followed  in  this 
country  for  more  than  70  years.  The  author  is  the  Cheva- 
lier von  Heint,  an  Austrian  nobleman,  the  owner  of  large 
estates  in  the  imperial  dominions.  He  appears  to  have 
completely  succeeded,  by  following  this  simple  American 
method,  and  he  even  ventured  to  raise  silk  worms  on  mul- 
berry trees  in  the  open  air,  on  the  frontiers  of  Hungary,  in 
44"  N.  Lat. ;  and  he  assures  us  that  he  met  with  the  same 
success. 

On  the  subject  of  reeling  the  silk  from  the  cocoons,  I 
think  it  is  an  art  to  be  acquired  only  by  practical  instruction 
and  experience.  It  is  not  to  be  learned  from  books  alone. 
The  description,  however,  which  you  have  given  of  its  pro- 
cess, is  in  general  correct,  and  has  been  with  propriety  in- 
serted. It  may  lead  to  some  useful  experiments,  and  will 
diifuse,  at  least,  the  knowledge  of  the  theory  of  the  art. 
The  present  method  of  reeling  silk  in  Connecticut,  will  not 
be  long,  I  believe,  persevered  in,  after  a  better  one  shall 
have  been  generally  introduced.  It  is  well,  however,  to  re- 
cord it  as  a  matter  of  fact,  and  for  the  benefit  of  those  who 
still  choose  to  pursue  it. 

Upon  the  whole,  I  consider  your  work  as  a  good  practical 
directory  for  American  farmers,  and  as  a  fair  and  judicious 
execution  of  the  duty  committed  to  you. 
I  am,  with  great  regard. 
Dear  Sir, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Peter  S.  Dv  Ponceau. 

Jonathan  H.  Cobb,  Esq. 

New  York,  June  29,  1831. 
I  have  read  the  work  of  Mr  Jonathan  H.  Cobb  on  the  Cul- 
ture of  Silk,  which  is  intended  by  him,  for  a  popular  manual 
of  instruction,  and  have  been  much  pleased  to  find  that  it 


Xn  PREFACE. 

unites  brevity  with  all  the  most  important  precepts  required 
in  that  valuable  branch  of  domestic  produce.  It  is  also  clear 
and  lucid,  and  free  of  all  accessary  details,  little  to  be  called 
for  within  the  short  period  of  time  necessary  to  make  a  silk 
crop.  It  is  evident  that  Mr  Cobb  has  been  many  years  a 
practical  culturist,  and  could  also  embrace  the  interesting 
cares  of  the  filature  even  further  than  that  of  making  market- 
able raw  silk,  which  is  not  frequently  attended  to  by  silk 
growers.  It  is  on  this  principle  only,  meaning  that  of  divid- 
ing among  various  branches,  hands  and  stages,  all  the  opera- 
tions required  for  the  cultivation  and  manufacture  of  silk, 
that  national  wealth  from  this  rich  produce  can  be  depended 
upon.  One  only  individual  cannot  be  a  perfect  operative  in 
all  stages  and  divisions  of  the  art,  but  he  can  become  skilful 
in  many  or  several  of  them,  if  at  each  degree  he  command  a 
marketable  produce.  I  conclude  with  observing  that  the 
work  of  Mr  Jonathan  H.  Cobb  deserves  the  confidence  of  the 
public,  and  its  circulation  should  be  encouraged. 

Felix  Pascalis,  M.  D. 


PART    I. 


CULTURE  OF  THE  MULBERRY  TREE. 

The  only  appropriate  food  for  the  silk  worm  is  the 
leaf  of  the  mulberry  tree.  It  should  be  the  first  busi- 
ness therefore  of  the  silk  grower  to  provide  himself  with 
the  source  of  a  constant  supply  of  mulberry  leaves. 
The  greater  his  supply  of  this  article,  the  greater  will  be 
his  crop  of  silk,  as  the  eggs  of  (he  insect  are  procured 
to  any  amount  with  ease  and  cheapness.  Having  the 
eggs  of  the  insect  and  a  sufficient  quantity  of  food  at 
hand,  ordinary  care  on  the  part  of  the  proprietor  will  in- 
sure a  good  crop.  It  is  now  abundantly  proved  that 
there  is  no  great  obstacle  in  the  soil  or  climate  of  these 
United  States  to  raising  silk  to  a  vast  amount.  As  there 
is  a  difference  in  the  quality  of  the  mulberry  leaves  for 
raising  silk,  it  should  be  the  object  of  the  cultivator  to 
propagate  the  best  kind.  The  white  mulberry  *  has 
been  found  superior  to  the  purple  or  native  red,t  and  the 
plants  are  easily  produced  from  the  seed. 

*  See  the  leaf,  Fig.  1,  Plate  2,  reduced  to  one  fourth  its  natural 
size. 

t  See  the  leaf,  Fig.  2,  Plate  2,  reduced  to  one  fifth  its  natural 
size. 


14 


The  white  mulberry  tree  differs  from  the  red  in  its 
general  appearance.  The  bark  is  smooth  and  of  a  lighter 
color.  The  leaves  are  thinner,  smaller,  and  of  a  lighter 
green  color.  The  fruit  is  of  a  whitish  grey  color 
and  of  a  vapid  sweetness  to  the  taste,  and  is  of  little  val- 
ue for  the  table  compared  with  the  black.  But  the  silk 
insect  prefers  the  leaves  of  the  white  to  those  of  the 
black,  the  red,  the  Tartarian  species,  or  the  paper  mul- 
berry, and  it  has  been  found  upon  experiment,  that  if 
these  different  species  are  given  at  the  same  time  to  the  in- 
sect, it  will  eat  the  white  first.  This  species  came  orig- 
inally from  China,  and  it  is  said  that  it  is  always  used  in 
China. 

THE    SEED    OF    THE    MULBERRY. 

One  ounce  of  good  seed  will  be  sufficient  to  produce 
6000  trees.  The  seed  is  easily  obtained  from  the  fruit 
in  the  following  manner.  When  the  fruit  begins  to  ripen, 
every  morning  the  tree  should  be  shaken  and  the  fruit 
that  falls  gathered  with  that  which  had  fallen  before  ;  if 
enough  is  not  gathered  in  one  morning,  several  succes- 
sive gatherings  rr%y  be  collected ;  but  the  fruit  should 
not  be  kept*^0'  ;r  three  or  four  days  before  the  seed  is 
extracted,  which  may  be  done  by  putting  the  fruit  into  a 
tub  and  mashing  it  till  the  berries  are  completely  worked 
into  a  common  mass.  Then  pour  water  into  it  and  stir  it 
briskly,  and  the  pulp  may  be  separated  from  the  seed. 
Then  pour  off  the  water,  with  all  the  seed  that  floats, 
(for  that  is  worthless)  and  renew  the  washing  till  the  seed 
is  clean,  when  it  may  be  drained,  spread  out  on  cloths 
and  dried  in  the  shade.  When  perfectly  dry  it  should 
be  put  into  a  tight  vessel  and  kept  in  a  dry  place.     It 


16 

should  never  be  exposed  to  the  light,  air  or  dampness 
more  than  is  absolutely  necessary.  The  seed  may  be 
obtained  at  a  reasonable  rate  at  most  of  the  seed  stores, 
and  I  have  bought  it  in  Mansfield,  Conn,  at  the  rate  of  a 
dollar  per  pound. 

SOWING    THE    SEED,    CHOICE    OF    SOIL,    ETC. 

A  soil  rich,  warm  and  mixed  with  much  mold,  is  re- 
commended as  the  most  proper  for  a  nursery  of  mulber- 
ry trees.  New  shoots  should  have  ground  easy  to  pen- 
etrate. The  ground  should  be  ploughed  the  preceding 
fall,  and  again  ploughed  two  or  three  times  in  the  spring 
and  made  light  and  friable  ;  two  or  three  dressings  of 
manure  well  ploughed  in  would  be  of  essential  service  ; 
the  ground  may  be  levelled  with  a  hoe  or  rake  and  the 
seed  sown  in  drills  about  the  first  of  May,  much  in  the 
same  way  as  our  farmers  sow  carrots.  The  weeds  must 
be  carefully  destroyed,  and  in  dry  times  watering  will  be 
beneficial.  I  have  sown  the  mulberries  in  July,  and  they 
have  sprouted  and  come  on  rapidly,  but  the  frosts  of  win- 
ter in  our  climate  (New  England)  have  been  too  severe 
for  them.  I  would  recommend  to  sow  the  seed  in  the 
spring.  From  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  ground  the  last 
season,  I  had  over  10,000  plants,  produced  from  seed 
sown  in  the  spring  in  the  way  above-mentioned,  some  of 
them  upwards  of  a  foot  in  height.  Those  that  are  in- 
tended for  transplanting  may  be  taken  up  in  the  fall  and 
put  out  of  the  way  of  frost  in  a  cellar,  the  roots  being 
covered  with  loam.  Those  left  standing  may  be  covered 
with  light  manure  or  old  hay.  The  frost  will  be  apt  to 
kill  the  young  and  tender  tops,  but  the  shoots  will  start 
2 


16 


from  the  bottom  in  the  spring  with  great  luxuriance.  The 
seed  plant  is  undoubtedly  best,  both  for  food,  for  worms 
and  duration  :  it  is  also  the  most  convenient  mode  of  get- 
ting the  trees,  as  seed  enough  can  be  sent  by  mail  to  any 
part  of  the  Union  to  produce  an  orchard  sufficient  to 
feed  several  millions  of  worms.  I  cannot  believe  that 
any  other  mode  can  be  pursued  to  much  advantage  in 
this  country  ;  but  as  some  may  be  fond  of  trying  experi- 
ments in  other  modes  of  culture,  the  following  are  laid 
down  as  sometimes  used  in  Europe. 

MANNER  OF  MULTIPLYING  MULBERRY  TREES  BY 
CUTTINGS. 

The  soil  chosen  to  receive  the  slips  of  the  mulberry 
tree  should  be  prepared  much  in  tlie  same  way  as  has 
been  described  for  the  seed.  The  cuttings  of  the  mul- 
berry are  to  be  planted  in  the  same  manner  as  the  cut- 
tings of  the  vine ;  that  is,  by  making  furrows  by  a  line  at 
the  distance  of  six  feet  from  one  to  the  other,  and  by  cross- 
ing them  by  furrows  at  the  same  distance,  in  order  to  form 
squares.  A  two-year  old  branch  of  a  mulberry  tree,  hav- 
ing wood  of  four  or  five  years  at  one  end,  must  be  select- 
ed, and  the  extremity  of  the  old  wood  must  be  interred 
to  the  depth  of  about  ten  inches.  The  branches  chosen 
from  the  white  mulberry  must  be  taken  off  in  the  spring  at 
the  first  rising  of  the  sap.  Two  or  three  incisions  must 
be  made  in  the  joints  or  knots  of  the  old  wood,  because  this 
operation  will  facilitate  the  shooting  of  the  roots,  which 
always  put  forth  from  the  joints  of  the  old  wood.  The 
cuttings  must  then  be  covered  with  a  well  manured  and 
friable  earth,  and  the  end  of  the  branch  which  rises  from 


17 


the  soil  must  be  cut  off  at  the  third  bud  from  the  surface. 
If  rains  should  not  frequently  occur  after  the  plantation 
is  finished,  it  would  be  necessary  to  water  the  plants 
often.  The  multiplication  of  mulberry  trees  by  means  of 
cuttings  is  said  to  have  the  important  advantage  of  two 
years  in  advance  over  the  establishment  of  a  nursery  by 
means  of  seed  in  Europe. 

BY    LAYERS. 

To  make  layers  is  to  force  a  branch  or  a  shoot  of  a  tree 
or  of  a  shrub  to  become  itself  a  tree  or  a  shrub,  by  putting 
a  branch  or  a  shoot  into  the  ground  without  separating  it 
from  the  parent  tree.  The  spring  is  the  most  suitable 
season  for  this  operation.  The  shoots  which  arise  at  the 
foot  of  a  tree,  the  youngest  smooth  branches  found  about 
the  lower  partof  the  mulberry,  any  other  branches  that 
are  long  and  supple  enough  to  be  secured  in  the  ground, 
and  lastly,  the  shoots  of  a  young  tree  whose  trunk  is  not 
high  and  which  may  be  laid  easily,  maybe  used.  If  there 
arise  some  vigorous  shoots  at  the  foot  of  a  mulberry  tree, 
a  hole  must  be  dug  six  or  eight  inches  deep  near  each 
shoot,  into  which  the  shoot  must  be  laid  without  twisting 
it  or  separating  it  from  the  tree.  It  is  then  to  be  secur- 
ed in  its  place  with  crotchets  of  wood  and  covered  with 
good  mold,  which  must  be  pressed  over  it,  and  the  end 
of  the  shoot  which  rises  above  the  ground  must  be  cut  off 
above  the  second  bud.  It  will  be  further  necessary  to 
place  by  the  side  of  the  layer  a  stake  to  mark  the  place 
and  prevent  its  being  trodden.  It  must  likewise  be  wa- 
tered immediately  after  the  operation,  and  as  often  after- 


18 


wards  as  may  be  necessary  to  maintain  about  it  a  proper 
state  of  moisture. 

The  young  and  smooth  twigs  among  the  branches  of 
the  mulberry  may  be  passed  through  a  basket  or  vase 
perforated  at  the  bottom  and  filled  with  earth  well  manur- 
ed. The  twig  must  be  cut  off  four  or  five  inches  above 
the  vase  or  basket,  and  the  mold  kept  in  a  due  state  of 
moisture  by  frequent  waterings. 

When  a  mulberry  tree  is  well  spread  and  the  boughs 
nearest  the  ground  have  not  been  lopped,  some  of  the 
branches  at  the  distance  of  six  feet  from  each  other  may 
be  bent  down  and  secured  in  the  ground,  so  thai  the  ends 
shall  not  rise  more  than  six  or  eight  inches  above  the 
surface. 

All  the  layers  made  in  these  different  ways  may  be 
separated  from  the  parent  tree  in  the  autumn  of  the  sec- 
ond year.  They  may  be  cut  off  four  inches  from  the 
parent  trunk,  be  taken  up  carefully  with  their  roots  and 
small  fibres  and  placed  in  the  nursery,  or  permanently 
established  in  an  orchard.  In  the  nursery  they  may  be 
set  at  the  distance  of  six  feet  from  each  other,  and  in  the 
following  year,  by  heading  them  down,  four  or  five  layers 
may  be  made  from  each.  By  these  means  one  hundred 
trees  may  be  increased  in  four  years  to  eighteen  hundred  ; 
for  the  parent  trees,  after  the  layers  are  separated  from 
them,  being  replaced  in  a  straight  position,  secured  to  a 
prop,  manured,  and  watered,  generally  retrieve  their 
strength  and  make  productive  trees. 

TRANSPLANTING    FOR    HEDGES. 

After  standing  in  the  nursery  a  suitable  time,  the  trees 
may  be  transplanted  for  making  hedges.     I  prefer  trans- 


19 

planting  in  the  spring.  Great  care  should  be  taken  to 
preserve  the  very  fine  roots.  If  hedges  for  fences  be  want- 
ed, the  young  trees  may  be  taken  from  the  seedlings  of  the 
last  year.  The  white  mulberry  forms  an  excellent  live 
fence,  and  when  once  established  is  probably  the  most 
permanent  of  any  other.  Cattle  must  not  be  allowed 
free  access  to  the  hedge  while  young,  as  they  would  de- 
stroy it  altogether  ;  but  after  it  has  become  a  good  fence 
they  may  approach  it  with  advantage.  The  more  it  is 
broken  and  lacerated  by  cattle,  the  more  impenetrable  it 
will  become  ;  as  for  every  branch  broken,  a  half  dozen 
shoots  will  immediately  start  out,  till  the  bush  forms  a 
perfect  bramble.  This  mode  is  therefore  recommended 
as  accomplishing  three  important  objects  :  supplying  food 
for  silk  worms  ;  keeping  the  trees  low,  that  the  leaves  may 
be  gathered  from  the  ground  by  children,  and  furnishing 
a  good  and  almost  never  ending  fence.  In  transplanting 
young  trees  for  hedges,  they  should  not  be  pruned  ;  but 
the  second  year,  or  at  least  the  third,  the  tops  should  be 
cut  off  and  the  side  branches  trained  laterally  with  the 
hedge  by  interweaving  them. 

SETTING    OUT    STANDARD    TREES. 

It  is  an  axiom  in  rural  economy,  that  the  greater  the 
disbursement  in  improving  the  land  the  greater  will  be 
the  proportional  income.  The  land  where  the  trees  are 
to  be  set,  will  be  much  better  for  the  purpose  if  ploughed, 
harrowed  and  manured.  The  trees  may  be  three  years 
old  if  taken  from  a  rich  soil,  or  four  if  from  a  poor  soil  ; 
they  should  be  from  four  to  eight  feet  in  height,  and  at 
least  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  holes  should  be  dug  at 
2* 


20 


about  the  same  distance  from  each  other  as  for  setting 
apple  trees,  and  be  made  eighteen  inches  deep  and  three 
or  four  feet  in  diameter.  The  bottoms  of  these  holes 
may  be  covered  with  a  few  inches  of  fresh  mold.  The 
young  tree  should  be  placed  in  its  proper  range,  ascer- 
tained by  a  stake  at  each  extremity  of  the  line,  and  it 
should  be  held  there  till  its  roots  are  well  covered  with 
friable  and  well  manured  earth,  free  from  stones,  and 
must  be  well  trodden  down  and  watered,  if  necessary  ;  a 
small  cavity  round  the  stem  to  retain  the  rain  is  very 
proper.  Two  or  three  dressings  a  year  with  a  hoe  and 
manuring  occasionally  may   be  of  essential  advantage. 

GRAFTING    AND    BUDDING. 

In  grafting  it  is  essential  to  adapt  the  bark  of  the  scion 
at  its  extremity  to  the  bark  of  the  stock,  and  to  place  the 
scion  on  the  northerly  side  in  order  that  it  may  be  less  ex- 
posed to  be  withered  and  dried  by  the  sun.  Budding 
should  be  performed  with  the  same  care  as  in  other  fruit 
trees  in  order  to  insure  success.  But  these  and  many  of 
the  modes  of  improving  and  propagating  the  mulberry, 
which  have  been  resorted  to  in  Europe,  will  be  unneces- 
sary in  this  country.  With  us,  land  is  so  cheap  and  la- 
bor so  high,  that  the  easy  and  convenient  mode  of  propa- 
gating by  seed  will  be  chiefly  resorted  to,  and  no  essen- 
tial permanent  advantage  will  result  to  us  from  grafting 
or  budding,  except  in  propagating  the  rare  varieties. 

PRUNING. 

The  imperfections  in  the  form  and  growth  of  the  trees 
may  be  remedied  by   a  judicious  pruning,  once   in  two 


21 


or  three  years  ;  and  with  regard  to  that,  the  good  sense 
of  every  cultivator  will  direct  him  how  to  form  a  tree  the 
most  beautiful,  as  well  as  the  most  productive.  June  is 
the  best  season  for  doing  this,  and  the  young  branches 
that  are  taken  off  will  afford  their  leaves  for  the  worms.* 

GROWTH  OF  THE  MULBERRY  TREE. 

Standard  trees,  when  once  well  rooted,  will  thrive  in 
any  soil  that  is  not  too  wet ;  the  gigantic  size  to  which 
the  wild  native  mulberry  attains  in  the  western  country, 
and  numerous  examples  of  large  and  thrifty  trees  in  the 
Atlantic  states,  furnish  abundant  evidence  ot  this.  The 
mulberry  tree  attains  to  a  very  great  age,  and  no  other 
tree  of  equal  growth  and  beauty  resists  so  well  the  influ- 
ences of  the  sea  atmosphere.  Two  or  three  grand 
specimens  of  this  beautiful  tree,  says  Mr  Phillips,  stand- 
ing on  the  most  exposed  situation  of  the  northeast  coast 
of  England,  not  only  defy  the  enemy,  but  delight  in  their 
situation  :  throwing  out  their  noble  limbs  in  all  direc- 
tions, and  assuming  a  foliage  rich,  full,  and  tufted  to  its 
topmost  boughs  :  one  of  them  is  of  the  greatest  magni- 
tude, though  some  of  its  vast  limbs  have  been  torn  from 
it ;  it  is  still  in  vigor,  and  in  point  of  richness  of  effect, 

*  For  taking  off  the  small  branches  of  larger  trees  which  could 
not  be  reached  by  hand,  I  saw  an  ingenious  contrivance  at  Balti- 
more by  G.  B.  Smith,  Esq.  It  was  nothing  more  than  a  pair  of 
pruning  shears  attached  by  one  of  the  handles  to  a  ten  foot  pole, 
which  is  held  in  one  hand,  and  operated  upon  by  means  of  a  cord 
passing  through  a  pulley,  and  attached  to  the  other  handle  with  the 
other  band ;  by  this  simple  contrivance  the  twigs  and  branches 
were  taken  od"  with  ease,  and  so  smoothly  as  not  to  lacerate  the 
bark  or  injure  the  appearance  of  ibe  tree. 


2a 

the  oak  itself  is  scarcely  superior.  They  are  abund- 
antly prolific.  The  red,  or,  as  it  is  more  commonly 
called,  the  purple  mulberry,  is  considered  as  the  only 
species  indigenous  in  this  country.*  The  northern  ex- 
tremity of  Lake  Champlain  is,  according  to  Michaux,  its 
most  northern  limit.  It  is  found  in  all  the  states  of  the 
Union,  south  and  west,  and  Dr  James  found  it  as  far 
west  as  the  river  Canadian. 

Everything  is  useful  in  the  mulberry  tree.  Its  leaves 
are  valuable  in  the  silk  which  they  produce  by  nourishing 
the  silk  worm  ;  its  fruit  is  excellent  for  poultry,  and  the 
wood  is  useful  for  the  joiner  and  for  fuel.  The  mulberry 
tree  may  also  serve  as  an  ornament  to  our  gardens  and 
streets,  very  ditferent  from  the  Lombardy  poplar,  which 
harbors  a  loathsome  insect,  or  the  elm,  or  the  ash,  which 
are  barren  and  do  not  afford  so  thick  a  shade  ;  and  as 
this  tree  is  always  handsome  and  useful,  the  Author  of 
nature  has  been  pleased  to  add  cleanliness,  as  on  account 
of  the  acrid  bitterness  of  its  sap  but  few  insects  will  har- 
bor upon  it. 

The  first  mulberry  tree  that  was  planted  in  France 
was  near  Montelimart,  and  nearly  three  centuries  after 
(in  1802)  the  original  tree  was  still  in  existence. 

In  England  it  was  first  planted  in  the  year  1548 ;  Mr 
Phillips  saw  at  Sion  House  the  original  trees.  He  found 
their  interior  so  decayed  that  the  timber  crumbled  on 
being  touched:  the  propped  branches  were  nevertheless 
so  well  nourished,  that  the  fruit  and  foliage  were  not  in- 
ferior to  those  of  the  youngest  trees.  Of  the  plantations 
formed  during  the  reign  of  James  I.  many  venerable 

*  See  tlie  leaf  in  Figure  2,  Plate  2. 


23 


remains  are  still  seen  in  England.  Mr  Phillips  found  a 
black  mulberry  tree  in  a  garden  adjoining  Greenwich 
Park,  which  is  supposed  to  be  one  of  the  oldest  in 
England.  '  It  throws  out,'  says  Mr  P.,  '  ten  large  branch- 
es so  near  the  earth,  that  it  has  the  appearance  of  half  a 
score  of  large  trees  rather  than  one,  and  notwithstanding 
many  of  the  projecting  branches  have  been  sawed  off,  it 
completely  covers  a  circumference  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet ;  and  although  the  elder  trees  have  fixed  their 
abode  in  some  parts  of  the  trunk,  and  other  parts  are 
covered  with  ivy,  it  continues  to  give  shoots  as  vigorous 
as  the  youngest  tree  and  produces  the  finest  mulberries 
in  England.  It  is  a  regular  bearer,  and  the  gardener 
assured  me  that  he  gathered  more  than  eighty  quarts  per 
day  during  the  season. 

THE    CHINESE    MULBERRY. 

Besides  the  varieties  of  the  mulberry  tree  heretofore 
mentioned,  there  is  one,  which,  if  we  may  believe  the 
recommendations  of  it,  is  superior  to  all  others  for  the 
culture  of  silk  :  I  mean  the  Chinese  mulberry.* 

The  following  account  of  it  I  derive  from  the  second 
No.  of  the  Silk  Cukurist,  a  valuable  and  useful  work, 
published  by  Dr  Felix  Pascalis,  of  New  York.  It  is  con- 
tained in  a  letter  to  the  author  from  Havre. 

'  Samuel  Perrottet,  a  member  of  the  Linnaean  Society 
of  Paris,  employed  by  government  as  a  travelling-  botanist, 
returned  to  this  port  after  a  voyage  of  thirtyfour  months. 
He  brought  with  him  eightyfour  boxes  of  various  dimen- 

*  See  the  leaf  ia  Fig.  3,  Plate  2,  reduced  (o  one  twelfth  of  its 
natural  size. 


•t» 


24 


sions,  containing  one  hundred  and  fiftyeight  species  of 
living  plants,  of  at  least  eight  feet  in  height,  to  the  quan- 
tity of  five  hundred  and  thirtyfour  individuals.  All  these 
productions  had  been  procured  in  the  seas  of  Asia,  or 
gathered  on  the  coast  or  in  the  lands  of  Cayenne.  From 
the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  there  had  nev- 
er before  been  so  vast  an  importation  —  one  so  extensive 
in  number,  for  rare  genera,  species  and  families,  and 
vegetable  productions,  or  of  their  seeds.  All  of  them 
passed  under  my  examination,  and  they  rather  appeared 
to  have  come  out  of  a  green  house  than  from  a  ship. 

*  In  this  immense  collection  was  the  Blorus  multicaulis, 
thus  called  by  Perrottet,  for  the  first  time  ascertained  to 
be  the  real  Chinese  mulberry.  Morns  alba  sinensis,  of 
which  every  silk  grower  and  cullurist  should  endeavor 
to  multiply  the  species.  It  has  been  deposited  in  the 
Royal  Garden.  Monsieur  Perrottet  says  that  it  grows 
with  many  shoots  from  the  roots,  with  tender  stems  and 
large  foliage,  of  a  much  more  nourishing  nature  than  the 
European  mulberry. 

'  Chinese  inhabitants  assured  him,  that  to  this  tree  the 
disciples  of  Confucius  are  indebted  for  the  prosperity  and 
solidity  of  their  empire. 

*  The  Morus  multicaulis  is  already  propagating  in 
many  parts  of  France,  and  probably  will  be  substituted 
and  preferred  to  all  the  other  varieties.  Among  the  other 
qualities  of  the  plant,  it  is  aflirmed  in  China  that  a  less 
quantity  of  this  foliage  is  required  for  the  precious  insects 
than  of  that  which  we  are  obliged  to  provide  for  them. 

I  have  received  half  a  dozen  shrubs  from  Mr  Prince's 
Nursery  on  Long  Island,  which  comprise  six  different 


25 

varieties  of  the  mulberry,  one  of  which  is  the  Morus  mul- 
ticaulis,  and  Mr  Prince  writes  to  me  that  he  has  them 
for  sale.*  During  my  late  visit  to  Madame  Parmentier's 
Nursery  at  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  in  June  1S31,  I  saw  several 
hundred  of  these  plants  which  looked  very  thrifty,  bore 
very  large  leaves,  seemed  to  take  well  to  the  soil,  and 
grow  with  uncommon  rapidity.  I  picked  several  leaves 
from  them,  each  of  which  n\ore  than  covered  the  crown 
of  my  hat.  The  leaves  were  given  to  the  silk  worms  in 
my  presence,  and  were  devoured  by  them  with  great 
avidity.  This  lady  has  also  twelve  different  varieties  of 
the  mulberry  in  her  nursery,  but  this  seems  to  be  fast 
taking  the  place  of  all  others. 

I  have  two  of  the  trees  of  this  species  growing  in  my 
garden  now  (1833)  which  I  obtained  at  that  time  and 
brought  home  with  me.  They  have  stood  the  severities 
of  two  of  our  northern  winters,  and  survived  without  any 
protection  or  shelter  from  the  weather. 

Mr  Richard  K.  Haight,  an  intelligent  merchant  of  the 
city  of  New  York,  has  one  hundred  of  these  plants,  which 
were  imported  from  France  the  present  season,  which  I 
saw  in  his  nursery  at  Brooklyn  in  a  flourishing  condition. 
He  has  also  some  Chinese  mulberry  trees  of  a  different 
character,  which  he  has  imported  with  great  care,  and 
which  may  prove  upon  experiment  to  be  valuable. 

*  1  have  seen  a  few  of  the  plants  of  the  ^Morus  multicaulis  in 
the  Kenrick  Nursery  at  Newton,  which  were  transplanted  from  Mr 
Prince's  the  present  season,  (1831)  and  are  now  in  a  flourishing 
condition.  Oar  nurserymen  will  find  it  for  their  interest  to  propa- 
gate this  plant  as  extensively  as  they  can  for  the  present,  by  inocu- 
lation and  grafting. 


26 


I  obtain  the  following  additional  particulars  in  regard 
to  this  variety,  and  also  that  of  the  Dandoio  mulberry,  from 
Mr  Kenrick's  valuable  treatise  on  fruits,  just  published. 

MORUS    MULTICAULIS. 

This  is  a  new  and  most  valuable  species  of  IVIulberry, 
for  the  nourishment  of  the  silk  worm,  which  is  lepresent- 
ed  as  possessing  such  decided  superiority  over  all  others, 
as  to  be  speedily  substituted  for  them  in  every  region  of 
the  globe. 

This  tree  has  not  yet  to  my  knowledge  borne  fruit  in 
America.  It  was  even  unknown  in  Europe  as  a  fruit 
tree,  till  in  1830,  for  the  first  time,  it  produced  its  fruit 
in  France.  The  fruit,  according  to  M.  Audibert,  was 
produced  in  great  abundance  ;  it  was  long,  black,  and  of 
sufficiently  beautiful  appearance  ;  its  taste  very  good, 
having  a  taste  intermediate  between  the  red  and  black 
mulberry.  The  tree  is  very  vigorous  and  upright.in  its 
growth.  The  leaves,  in  a  light,  friable,  rich,  and  humid 
soil,  are  large  and  cordiform,  but  in  a  dry  and  arid  soil, 
they  are  of  less  size,  eliptical,  and  without  the  heart- 
shaped  indentation  ;  their  breadth  is  stated  to  be  six 
inches,  and  their  length  eight ;  but  in  rich  soils  they  are 
sometimes  eight  inches  in  breadth,  and  ten  in  length,  or 
even  more.  They  are  curled  or  convex  on  their  surface, 
of  a  deep  shining  green,  and  eminently  beautiful. 

Remarks  on  the  culture  and  uses  of  the  Morus  Ululticaulis, 
hy  M.  Perrottct,  Agricultural  Botanist,  and  Traveller 
of  the  Marine  and  Colonies.  —  FVom  the  '  Annales  of 
Promont.' 
'  The  Morus  Multicaulis,  which  we  noticed  for  the  first 


27 


time  in  the  Annates  de  la  Societie  Linnenne  de  Paris 
for  1824,  appears  to  have  originated  in  the  elevated 
regions  of  China  ;  from  whence  it  has  been  disseminated 
throughout  the  low  plains  near  the  sea  shore.  It  is  be- 
lieved it  is  cultivated  in  all  parts  of  that  vast  empire, 
where  the  education  of  the  silk  worm  is  an  object  of 
commercial  importance.  From  Canton  it  was  introduced 
into  Manilla  and  all  the  Islands  in  the  Asiatic  Archipel- 
ago, where  it  was  only  cultivated  for  ornamenting  gar- 
dens. The  Chinese  are  entitled  to  the  credit  of  this  in- 
troduction, who  in  emigrating  from  their  country  have 
from  motives  of  industry,  endeavored  to  multiply  it,  that 
they  might  render  it  useful  to  them,  in  the  new  country 
of  their  adoption. 

■'  The  fortunate  discovery  of  this  precious  shrub  occur- 
red in  the  garden  of  a  Chinese  cultivator  at  Manilla, 
who,  after  having  informed  us  of  its  properties,  and  the 
important  purpose  for  which  it  was  used  in  his  own 
country,  yielded  to  our  solicitations  and  sold  us  two 
bushes  for  ten  Spanish  piastres,  assuring  us  that  he  had 
introduced  it  into  Manilla,  where  it  had  been  considera- 
bly extended. 

'  In  August  we  brought  it  from  Manilla,  the  capital  of 
the  Phillippine  Islands,  and  first  introduced  it  into  the 
Isle  of  Bourbon,  from  thence  into  Cayenne  and  France. 
At  a  later  period  it  was  sent  from  Cayenne  to  Martinique, 
and  from  France  to  Guadaloupe,  and  also  to  Senegal, 
where  it  has  been  considerably  multiplied.  The  numer- 
ous plants  which  are  already  disseminated  in  the  divers 
climates  of  Africa,  America,  and  Europe  have  beea  ali 
3 


28 


produced  from  the  two  individuals,  which  we  procured  at 
Manilla. 

*  *  *  '  Among  the  number  of  mulberries,  now  culti- 
vated by  the  Chinese,  for  the  education  of  silk  worms, 
the  Moms  MulticauUs  appears  to  be  the  most  esteemed 
of  all,  not  only  for  the  facility  with  which  it  is  propagated 
and  grows,  but  still  more  for  the  essentially  nutritive  pro- 
perty which  the  leaves  possess.  We  have  been  enabled 
to  verify  this  important  fact  during  the  five  years  which 
we  passed  in  Senegal.*  *  *  The  characters  which  essen- 
tially distinguish  this  mulberry  from  the  other  varieties, 
are  those  which  result,  1st,  from  the  remarkable  property 
which  the  roots  possess  of  throwing  up  numerous  small 
flexible  stalks,  without  forming  a  principal  trunk  ;  2d, 
from  the  great  length  which  these  stalks  assume  in  a  very 
short  time;  3d,  from  the  remarkable  development  which 
the  thin,  tender,  and  soft  leaves  speedily  acquire,  and  the 
promptitude  with  which  they  are  renewed.*  *  *  And  4th 
and  lastly,  from  the  extraordinary  facility  with  which  the 
stalks  and  branches  strike  root,  as  cuttings,  vvitliout  par- 
ticular care,  even  before  they  have  acquired  a  ligneous 
consistence. 

*  *  *  '  Besides  the  advantages  which  we  have  already 
named,  we  may  still  add,  that  they  are  admirably  calcu- 
lated for  forming  regular  plantations  ;  it  not  being  natural 
to  grow  tall  or  form  any  trunk  properly  so  called ;  they 
can  be  placed  very  near  without  an  injurious  effect ;  and 
by  heading  down  the  stalks  annually  near  the  ground,  a 
rich  vegetation  is  produced,  with  a  complete  development 
of  vigorous  branches  and  leaves  ;  and  finally  it  is  easy  to 
multiply  them  by  thousands  from  the  roots  in  the  course 


29 


of  a  year  and  to  form  vast  and  regular  plantations  of  them 
the  second.  But  a  few  years  then  are  sufficient  to  ob- 
tain considerable  fields  of  them  in  full  vigor,  sufficient  to 
support  an  immense  quantity  of  silk  worms,  and  that 
with  the  greatest  facility,  as  they  are  reproduced  in  a 
manner  almost  indefinite.  *  *  *  Regular  plantations  of 
it  can  be  found  without  difficulty,  by  planting  the  shrubs 
at  a  distance  of  six  or  eight  feet  from  each  other,  a 
space  sufficient  for  the  extension  of  the  branches,  to  fa- 
cilitate the  culture  and  for  collecting  the  leaves.  This 
last  operation  is  so  much  facilitated  by  the  flexibility  of 
the  stalks,  that  a  child  is  sufficient  for  furnishing  the  food 
of  a  large  establishment  of  silk  worms. 

Climate,  Son,,  dec.  —  *  *  *  <  Xhis  species  will  be 
readily  acclimated  in  Europe  ;  because  it  originated  in 
an  analogous  region  as  to  climate,  to  that  which  we  in- 
.babit.  It  appears  not  to  sufier  from  the  excessive  cold  of 
the  northern,  or  the  intense  heat  of  the  intertropical  re- 
gions ;  for  the  plants  deposited  in  the  gardens  of  the 
government  at  Cayenne,  acquired  in  the  space  of  eight 
months  a  truly  remarkable  development,  and  at  the  time 
of  our  departure  from  that  colony,  in  June,  18'21,  they 
were  clothed  with  leaves  of  an  extraordinary  size.  Those 
also  which  we  cultivated  at  Senegal,  although  situated 
under  a  dry  and  scorching  sky,  and  planted  in  an  arid 
soil,  offered  an  appearance  sufficiently  satisfactory,  but 
they  had  acquired  less  development  in  all  respects,  than 
those  which  ftave  vegetated  under  the  humid  climate  of 
Guiana.  It  appears  expedient  then,  that  plantations  of 
this  mulberry  should  be  made  upon  a  humid  rather  than 
a  dry  soil,  to  obtain  in  all  respects  a  satisfactory  result. 


30 


»  ♦  »  *  *  Besides,  this  mulberry  braves  the  most  vigo- 
rous winters.  We  saw  on  our  arrival  at  Havre,  in  July 
last,  in  the  field  of  M.  A.  Eyries,  plants,  which  had  en- 
dured, in  the  open  ground,  the  winter  of  1828,  and 
which  appeared  vigorous  and  beautiful.'  —  Thus  far 
M.  Perrottet. 

On  this  last  and  other  points,  let  us  now  hear  the 
testimony  of  M.  Poiteau  in  the  Annalcs  (THoriicul- 
ture,  1830. 

'  By  the  information  which  we  receive  from  all  quarters, 
it  appears  that  this  mulberry  is  destined  to  replace  tho 
common  white  mulberry,  everywhere,  for  nourishing  silk 
worms  ;  its  property  of  continuing  low  and  bushy,  so 
that  the  leaves  can  always  be  gathered  without  a  ladder  ; 
and  the  large  size,  abundance,  and  tenderness  of  the 
leaves,  cannot  fail  to  give  it  a  decided  preference.  It 
has  been  sufficiently  ascertained,  that  they  are  eaten  with 
avidity  by  the  silk  worms,  and  that  the  silk  which  they 
form  is  of  the  first  quality.  This  mulberry  has  not  suf- 
fered in  the  least  from  the  rigors  of  the  last  severe 
winter. 

'  The  zealous  traveller,  who  has  given  to  France, 
America,  and  Africa,  this  precious  plant,  has  acquired  a 
just  claim  to  public  gratitude,  and  it  is  not  only  easy,  but 
proper,  to  give  him  at  this  time  a  proof  of  it,  by  affixing 
his  name  to  the  tree  which  has  given  him  celebrity,  and 
which  will  contribute  so  much  to  the  prosperity  of  French 
Industry.  *  *  *  '  Note  to  the  Perrottet  Mulberry  (Moras 
Multicaulis.) 

M.  Audibert  is  also  decidedly  of  the  opinion  that  the  best 
mode  of  cultivating  the  Mortis  Multicaulis,  for  the  sup- 


31 

port  of  silk  worms,  is  in  hedges  with  low  stocks,  M. 
Barthere  of  Toulouse  in  the  South  of  France,  who  has 
considerably  extended  their  cultivation,  fully  coincides  in 
the  same  opinion  ;  and  is  confident  that  in  grounds  and 
vineyards  which  could  hardly  give  two  per  cent,  this  tree 
will  now  insure  ten  per  cent. 

This  tree,  according  to  M.  Perrottet  and  Dr  Deslong- 
champs,  is  easily  propagated  either  by  layers,  by  cuttings, 
or  even  by  cuttings  of  a  single  eye,  placed  beneath  the 
surface  and  shaded  from  the  noonday  sun. 

The  experiments  instituted  at  Paris  by  Dr  Deslong- 
champs,  have  confirmed  all  that  had  been  previously  as- 
serted respecting  the  quality  of  the  silk  produced  by  this 
plant ;  he  has  further  stated  that  the  cocoons,  made  by  the 
worms  fed  only  on  this  plant,  are  even  rather  heavier. 

Dr  Felix  Pascalis  in  an  article  in  Silliman's  Journal  of 
Science  for  July,  1830,  after  informing  us  that  in  the 
preceding  March  he  had  received  two  plants  of  this  mul- 
berry from  France,  has  added  — '  After  the  discovery  of 
this  plant,  a  doubt  no  longer  exists,  that  two  crops  of  silk 
may  be  raised  in  a  single  season.' 

At  Madam  Parmentier's  Horticultural  establishment, 
two  crops  of  silk  were  produced  in  the  summer  of  1832. 
The  first  were  fed  promiscuously  on  the  3Ioriis  Multicau- 
lis,  Morus  Alba,  and  other  mulberries.  The  cocoons  thus 
produced  were  about  two  thirds  white  and  the  remainder 
of  an  orange  color.  A  suitable  portion  of  these  cocoons 
were  collected  for  seed,  having  no  regard  to  color; — These 
being  subjected  to  the  hatching  process,  produced  a  sec- 
ond crop  the  30ih  of  July.  These  last  were  fed  exclu- 
sively on  the  Moms  Multicaulis  :  they  passed  through  the 
3* 


32 


different  stages  of  their  larva  existence  in  the  short  space 
of  26  clays.  The  cocoons  which  were  obtained  from  this 
second  crop  were  of  a  much  larger  size  than  those  of  the 
first  crop,  but  what  is  of  still  more  consequence  they 
loere  of  the  whiteness  of  snow,  and  have  a  most  beautiful 
shining  appearance.  (See  New  England  Farmer,  vol. 
xi.  No.  ii.)  At  Madam  Parmentier's  in  1831,  I  witness- 
ed the  silk  worms  feeding  with  avidity  on  the  leaves  of  the 
Morus  Multicaulis ,  and  was  informed  that  they  had  left 
eleven  other  species  of  mulberries  to  feed  on  this.  At 
that  place  we  are  also  informed,  the  Blorus  Multicaulis 
has  withstood  the  rigors  of  the  last  six  winters  uninjured 
and  unprotected.  Although  bein^  possessed  of  an  ac- 
tive and  prolonged  vegetation,  it  is  not  to  be  expected 
that  the  unripened  wood  of  the  tender  tips  should  always 
escape. 

I  introduced  this  plant  to  Massachusetts  in  the  spring 
of  1831,  from  the  Messrs  Prince  of  the  Linnajan  Botanic 
Garden,  Flushing  ;  I  also  received  plants  of  the  same 
from  Madam  Parmentier's  of  Brooklyn  L.  I.  and  I  have 
also  received  them  from  France  from  M.  Andre  Michaux, 
author  of  the  American  Sylva. 

DANDOLO  OR  MORETTI  MULBERRY. 

A  new  and  most  valuable  species  of  mulberry  for  the 
nourishment  of  the  silk  worm.  It  was  first  discovered 
about  1815,  by  M.  Moretti,  Professor  in  the  University 
of  Pavia,  and  from  a  single  young  tree  he  had  in  1826, 
multiplied  them  to  120,000.  The  tree  is  presumed  to  be 
hardy  ;  the  fruit  which  is  at  first  violet,  becomes  at  ma- 
turity perfectly  black.     The  leaf  is  ovate,  sharp  pointed, 


33 

entire,  cordate  at  the  base.  It  is  thin,  smooth  on  the 
under  and  especially  on  the  upper  surface,  which  is  of  a 
beautiful  and  rather  deep  shining  green  ;  it  is  not  near  so 
thick  as  that  of  the  large  white  mulberry,  called  in  France, 
the  AdmiruhJc,  and  is  thinner  than  those  of  the  Spanish 
mulberry,  (Moms  Xigra.)  It  is  neither  wrinkled  or 
plaited.  It  is  in  general  nearly  eight  inches  wide,  and 
ten  inches  long.  This  mulberry  will  be  most  profitably 
cultivated  in  the  form  of  a  hedge,  and  from  the  superior 
size  of  the  leaf,  they  are  gathered  with  the  greatest  fa- 
cility. Its  superior  quality  has  been  proved  by  the  ex- 
periments of  xM.  Gera  and  the  Count  Dandolo,  who  as- 
sert, that  they  produce  silk  of  a  more  beautiful  gloss  and 
of  finer  quality  than  common  silk.  See  the  whole  article 
Inserted  hy  the  Hon.  11.  A.  S.  Dearborn,  in  the  New  Eng' 
land  Farmer,  vol.  8,  J^o.  29.  It  is  from  the  Annales  d' 
Horticulture,  and  is  extracted  from  the  Report  of  Dr 
Fontaneilles,  on  a  letter  published  by  M.  Gera  in  1826, 
in  the  Journal  of  Physics,  and  of  Chemistry  of  Pavia. 

The  following  statistics  of  a  mulberry  orchard  of  two 
acres,  are  by  the  late  Andrew  Parmentier,  Esq.  of  New 
York; 

650  standard  trees  in  the  low  parts  of  tlie  ground,  each 

20  feet  apart. 
250  standard  trees  on  the  rising  places,  12  feet  apart. 
650  dwarf  trees  on  suitable  portions  of  the  ground. 

1550 

This  ground  to  be  fenced  by  mulberry  hedges.     The 


34 


purchase  money  for  about  two  acres,  with  cost  of  manure 
and  neceesary  tillage,  is  estimated  at  $500. 

Supposing  that  to  secure  full  success  to  this  orchard  by 
using  none  of  the  foliage,  and  tilling  and  replacing  dead 
trees  during  five  years,  counting  loss  of  interest  and 
other  expenses  accruing,  we  have  an  increase  of  debt  of 
8375,  and  a  capital  of  $881 ;  but  commencing  from  the 
fifth  year  up  to  the  twentieth  of  its  existence,  the  author 
of  these  statistics  forms  three  different  periods  of  five 
years  each.  The  plantation  will  give  in  the  first  period 
from  90  to  95  quintals  of  foliage,  that  is,  9000  lbs.  or 
fodder  for  five  ounces  of  worm  seeds ;  35  pounds  of 
silk,  about  $180,  that  is,  20  per  cent  on  $881.  The 
second  period  will  annually  afford  for  fourteen  ounces, 
15,000  quintals,  or  95  lbs.  of  silk,  equal  to  47  per  cent 
on  $881.  But  the  third  period  to  the  twentieth  year  of  age 
of  the  orchard,  from  500  to  650  quintals  may  be  expect- 
ed, which  will  feed  28  ounces  and  give  196  lbs.  of  silk, 
worth  nearly  $1000,  or  more  than  112  per  cent. 

The  following  are  remarks  and  calculations  of  my  esti- 
mable friends  Messrs.  Abner  Brownell  and  John  Macomber 
of  Westport  Mass.,  who  are  engaged  in  the  cultivation 
of  the  Mulberry  tree,  and  have  a  large  number  of  them 
of  various  sizes  for  sale.  I  furnished  them  with 
buds  of  the  Morus  Multicaulis,  from  my  nursery  last 
season.  Although  it  is  very  evident  that  all  calculations 
on  these  subjects  must  be  uncertain,  yet  I  have  thought 
the  following  from  judicious  farmers  might  not  be  un- 
acceptable. 

Mr  J.  D.  Ilomergue,  in  his  letter  to  the  Hon.  Andrew 
Stevenson,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in 


35 

Congress,  says  — '  In  one  acre  of  land  there  are  43,560 
square  feet,  on  which  may  be  planted  3000  mulberry 
trees,  (from  4  to  3f  feet  apart.)  These  will  yield,  at  the 
age  of  seven  years,  90,000  pounds  of  leaves,  —  30  pounds 
to  a  tree  —  producing  7,500  pounds  of  cocoons.  At 
25  cents  per  pound,  these  cocoons  would  sell  for  f  1,875; 
at  40  cents,  $3000 ;  at  50  cents,  $3,750.' 

In  Fessenden's  American  Gardener,  page  272,  it  is 
said,  'one  ounce  of  seed  will  produce  about  40,000 
worms,  who  consume  about  1000  pounds  of  leaves,  and 
produce  from  SO  to  100  pounds  of  cocoons  ;  and  12  pounds 
of  cocoons  give  about  one  pound  of  Silk.'  In  the  Franklin 
Journal,  vol.  II,  pages  23,  94  and  139,  Count  Dondola 
says,  '  The  quantity  of  leaves  actually  consumed  by 
200,000  worms,  is,  in  the  first  age,  20  lbs.  second,  55  lbs., 
third,  215  lbs.,  fourth,  620  lbs.,  fifth,  3,820  lbs.,  making 
in  all,  4,731  lbs.  of  leaves ;  and  that  where  trees  are 
convenient,  two  persons  will  attend  and  feed  240,000 
worms,  until  ten  days  from  spinning,  when  five  or  six  ac- 
tive children  are  necessary.'  It  is  also  known,  that  four 
or  five  weeks,  where  the  worms  are  well  fed,  completes 
the  time  of  feeding.  The  Massachusetts  Journal,  of 
1828,  Vol.  X,  No.  2,  page  137,  says,  '  A  single  acre  plant- 
ed with  the  mulberry,  will  produce  from  5  to  600  pounds 
of  raw  silk,'  but  the  number  of  trees  is  not  mentioned. 

According  to  the  above  calculations,  240,000  worms 
will  consume  6000  pounds  of  leaves,  requiring  the  time 
and  attention  of  two  women,  for  five  weeks,  which,  at  $3 
per  week  each,  including  board,  is  $30;  and  6  children, 
ten  days  each,  at  $2  per  week,  is  $17,  making  the  cost 
147  for  6000  pounds  of  leaves.     At  that  rate,  90,000 


36 


pounds  of  leaves  —  the  produce  of  one  acre  —  would  feed 
3,600,000  worms,  and  cost  for  feeding  them,  $705,  which 
being  deducted  from  $1,l!<75,  the  price  of  the  produce, 
leaves  $1,170  for  the  annual  income  of  one  acre  of  trees. 
Thus,  by  the  above  calculations,  differing  but  little  in  the 
amount,  it  is  seen  that  the  income  afforded  by  one  acre, 
after  seven  years,  must  be  immense.  This  acre,  it  is  to 
be  presumed,  must  be  of  the  best  quality,  and  the  trees 
highly  cultivated,  to  produce  so  much.  Mulberry  trees 
will  grow  on  poor  land,  but  the  produce  will  be  compara- 
tively small.  But  supposing  Mr  Homergue's  calculations 
to  be  made  from  the  best  kind  of  land,  and  that  we  have 
much  poor,  rocky  land,  let  us  call  the  product  of  leaves 
only  one-tenth  as  much  as  is  estimated  above,  we  have 
only  three  pounds  of  leaves  from  each  tree,  and  lest  it  may 
require  more  help  to  feed  the  worms,  we  will  say  four 
wornen  and  twelve  children,  which  will  reduce  the 
cocoons  to  750  pounds,  and  the  sales  to  $187  50,  and  the 
cost  of  feeding  will  be  1141,  and  there  will  then  remain 
$46  50  for  the  annual  income  of  one  acre. 

All  the  uncertainty  in  these  calculations,  arises  from 
the  quantity  of  leaves  produced  on  an  acre,  and  that  must 
vary  according  to  the  quality  and  cultivation  of  the  soil ; 
all  the  rest  can  be  ascertained  from  actual  experiment. 
But  I  understand  it  is  the  practice  of  some  to  let  their 
trees  on  shares  —  one  fourth  of  the  cocoons  to  those  who 
gather  the  leaves,  one-half  to  those  who  tend  and  feed 
the  worms,  and  the  other  fourth  to  the  owner  of  the  trees, 
which,  if  the  trees  produced  90,000  pounds  of  leaves,  and 
the  cocoons  sold  for  $  1 ,875,  would  be  for  one  half,  $937  50, 
and  one  fourth  $468  75,     But  supposing  the  trees  to  pro- 


37 


duce  one  tenth  only  of  this  quantity,  then  one-half  would 
be  193  75,  and  one-fourth,  $56  87^.  This  amounts  to 
about  the  same  thing  as  calling  the  labor  of  gathering 
the  leaves  and  feeding  the  worms,  double  what  it  is  calcu- 
lated in  the  Franklin  Journal,  at  the  price  of  wages  and 
board  which  I  have  calculated. 

Now  taking  the  smallest  estimate  of  income,  and  in 
what  way  can  a  farmer,  remote  from  a  seaport  town,  ac- 
quire so  much,  with  so  little  capital  and  labor,  in  about 
five  weeks  time  ?  If  any  person  will  point  out  any  way, 
and  prove  it,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Legislature,  or 
Agricultural  Society,  I  think  he  would  merit  a  great 
reward.  But  this  business  may  be  particularly  recom- 
mended to  Overseers  of  the  Poor  in  every  town,  who 
have  a  farm,  —  and  every  town  ought  to  have  one  —  to 
keep  their  paupers  ;  for  if  one  half  their  paupers  are  able 
to  gather  leaves  and  feed  the  worms  five  weeks,  this 
business  would  support  all  of  them  a  year,  exclusive  of 
the  cost  of  an  overseer.  Permit  me  to  suggest  one  con- 
sideration more,  —  if  all  the  highways  in  country  towns 
were  ornamented  with  a  row  of  mulberry  trees,  on  each 
side,  half  a  rod  apart,  each  mile  would  contain  1380 
trees,  the  income  of  which,  after  seven  years,  would  pro- 
bably pay  for  repairing  all  the  highways  and  the  expense? 
of  the  public  schools,  if  the  inhabitants  would  restrain 
their  cattle  and  sheep  from  going  at  large.  There  is 
another  method  of  producing  silk  from  mulberry  trees, 
one  year  after  transplanting  them  ;  which  is,  to  plant 
them  in  rows  3  feet  by  2  apart,  which  would  give  about 
7000  to  an  acre,  and  every  other  year  with  a  sharp  in- 
strument to  cut  them  off  within  three  or  four  inches  of 


38 


the  ground  and  feed  them  out  or  cut  off  every  year. 
But  whether  this  method  will  produce  as  much  or  more 
Silk,  than  to  omit  picking  the  leaves  for  seven  years,  I 
have  not  obtained  information  sufficient  to  decide. 

I  further  remark,  that  the  education  of  youth  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  the  public.  May  I  be  permitted  to 
address  the  inhabitants  of  every  school  District,  that  they 
would  seriously  and  without  delay,  consider  the  importance 
of  connecting  the  silk  business  with  summer  schools,  by 
procuring  two  or  three  acres  of  suitable  land  near  eacli 
school  house,  and  have  them  well  covered  with  mulberry 
trees  and  fenced  with  a  mulberry  hedge,  with  sheds  near 
the  school  house,  for  feeding  the  worms  and  reeling  the 
silk  ;  and  having  a  suitable  mistress  and  twentyfour  schol- 
ars and  over,  to  be  employed  in  gathering  leaves  and 
feeding  worms  at  times  not  interfering  with  regular  school 
hours,  for  the  term  of  four  months,  the  silk  worms  to  be 
hatched  in  succession,  once  in  eight  or  ten  days,  and  the 
produce  of  silk  will  be  more  than  enough  to  pay  the  vvage.« 
and  board  of  the  mistress  at  $20  per  month,  and  the 
board  of  the  scholars  at  61  per  week  during  that  time. 
This  can  be  proved  by  actual  experiment  and  arithmetical 
demonstration,  if  we  may  believe  the  testimony  of  all 
the  silk  growers  and  authors  on  the  silk  business. 

A  shed  may  be  erected  near  a  school  house  of  the 
following  dimensions,  viz.  20  feet  long  and  16  wide,  with 
nine  feet  posts  boarded  with  square  edged  boards,  the 
roof  shingled,  but  no  floor,  two  small  windows,  one  at 
each  end  ;  two  frames  made  like  ladders  for  four  tier  of 
shelves,  fifteen  feet  long  and  four  and  a  half  wide,  the 
lower  ends  of  the  ladders  to  be  two  and  a  half  feet  abovo 


39 

the  ground,  and  two  and  a  half  feet  between  them ;  at 
one  end  of  the  shed  four  more  shelves  the  height  of  the 
others,  thirteen  feet  long,  one  foot  and  eight  inches  wide ; 
these  twelve  shelves  will  serve  for  one  hundred  thousand 
worms,  and  will  consume  about  twentyfive  hundred 
pounds  of  leaves  previous  to  their  spinning  cocoons,  after 
each  hatching,  and  produce  two  hundred  and  eight  pounds 
of  cocoons  and  make  twentysix  pounds  of  reeled  silk, 
according  to  Messrs  Homergue's  and  Cobb's  calculations ; 
and  by  hatching  the  worms  in  succession  for  sixteen 
weeks,  the  second  hatching  in  fourteen  days  after  the 
first,  and  then  in  ten  days,  and  then  once  in  eight  days, 
until  there  is  ten  hatchings,  which  at  that  rate  will  make 
two  thousand  and  eighty  pounds  of  cocoons,  and  two 
hundred  and  sixty  pounds  of  reeled  silk,  which  at  the 
lowest  price  that  Mr  Cobb  has  sold  his  for,  84  50  per 
pound,  amounts  to  §1170,  or  selling  the  cocoons  at  40 
cents  the  price  at  Philadelphia,  they  would  amount  to 
$832 ;  or  say  25  cents,  the  lowest  price  offered  any- 
where, they  amount  to  $520.  Then  allowing  the  mis- 
tress 820  per  month,  and  the  board  of  the  twenty  four 
scholars  for  sixteen  weeks,  each  at  81  per  week,  it 
amounts  to  8464,  which  deducted  from  8520,  there  re- 
mains 856 ;  which  allowing  three  acres  of  land  and  the 
trees  to  cost  8600,  the  856  will  pay  the  interest  of  the 
money  and  820  left  to  pay  interest  for  two  sheds  which 
will  be  wanted  if  the  silk  is  reeled ;  thus  you  have  the 
children  schooled  and  boarded  without  any  expense  to 
their  parents  or  the  town,  and  interest  on  the  capital  in 
the  bargain.  What  more  do  you  want,  but  faith  and 
resolution. 

4 


40 


Additional  remarks. 

I  have  taken  Mr  J.  D'Homergue's  calculations,  and 
compared  them  with  many  others,  and  then  made  deduc- 
tions so  great,  as  to  make  the  produce  of  leaves  from  an 
acre  of  trees,  when  20  years  old  to  amount  to  only  one 
third  of  what  he  says  the  same  number  of  trees  will  pro- 
duce when  7  years  old,  and  so  much,  I  think,  land  of  a 
medium  quality  will  produce.  An  acre  of  land,  with 
3000  mulberry  trees  planted  upon  it,  and  a  shed,  will  cost 
1300.  At  the  end  of  four  years,  the  ,$300  and  interest, 
will  amount  to  §378  73  ;  two  pounds  of  leaves  from  each 
tree,  will  produce  500  pounds  of  cocoons,  which,  at  25 
cents  per  pound,  amount  to  $125.  Deducting  three 
fourths  for  labor,  and  there  remains  631  25  net  profit, 
which  being  deducted  from  $378  73,  reduces  the  capital 
to  $347  48. 

5//j  year  —  Capital  and  interest  $36S  32  ;  produce, 
2^  lbs.  leaves  from  each  tree  ;  value  of  cocoons,  $15625  ; 
net  profit  $39  OGJ- ;  reduced  capital  $329  25. 

Qth  year  —  Capital  and  interest,  $349  ;  produce,  3  lbs. 
of  leaves  from  a  tree;  value  of  cocoons,  $187  50  ;  net 
profit,  $46  871 ;  reduced  capital,  $302  12f 

Ifh  year  —  Capital  and  interest,  $320  25  ;  produce, 
^  lbs. ;  value  of  cocoons,  $218  75  ;  net  profit,  $54  68  ; 
reduced  capital,  $265  56. 

^th  year  —  Capital  and  interest  $281  19;  produce  4 
lbs. ;  value  of  cocoons  $250  ;  net  profit  $62  50  ;  reduced 
capital,  $218  69. 

Qthyear  —  Capital  and  interest  $231  81  ;  produce  4^- 
lbs.;  value  of  cocoons  $281  25;  net  profit  $70  31}; 
reduced  capital  $161  49. 


41 

10th  1/ear — Capital  and  interest  $171  17;  produce  5 
lbs. ;  value  of  cocoons  ^'S12  50  ;  net  profit  $78  1'2^  re- 
duced capital  $93  044^. 

ll//t  i/ear  —  Capital  and  interest  898  621;  produce 
51;  lbs.  value  of  cocoons  $343  75  net  profit  $85  9'3^  ; 
reduced  capital  ,^12  68. 

\^th  year — Capital  and  interest  J^I344;  produce  6 
lbs.  ;  value  of  cocoons  ^375  ;  net  profit  !j^93  75  —  which 
pays  the  debt  of  $13  44,   and  leaves  a  credit  of  $80  31. 

I'^th  year  —  The  above  S$0  31  hired  out  on  interest, 
amounts  to  ^$5  12;  produce  6^  lbs;  value  of  cocoons 
^4061;  net  profit  ^101  561;  accumulated  capital  $186 
68. 

14:lh  year  —  Accumulated  capital  and  interest  $197 
S8;  produce  7  lbs.  ;  value  of  cocoons  $437  50  ;  net  profit 
$109  37  ;  accumulated  capital  $307  25. 

loth  year  —  Accumulated  capital  and  interest  $325 
68;  produce  7i  lbs.;  value  of  cocoons  $468  75;  net 
profit  $117  18|^;  accumulated  capital  $442  86. 

Y^th  year — .Accumulated  capital  and  interest  $469 
43  ;  produce  8  lbs.  ;  value  of  cocoons  $500 ;  net  profit 
$125;  accumulated  capital  S-594  43. 

llth  year — Accumulated  capital  and  interest  $630 
09 ;  produce  8i  lbs. ;  value  of  cocoons  $531  25 ;  net 
profit  $132  81^;  accumulated  capital  $762  90. 

\Sth  year  —  Accumulated  capital  and  interest  $808 
67;  produce  9  lbs.  ;  value  of  cocoons  $562  50;  net 
profit  $140  62;  accumulated  capital  $949  294. 

19^/t  year —  Accumulated  capital  and  interest  $1,006 
24  ;  produce  9^  lbs.  ;  value  of  cocoons  $593  75 ;  net 
profit  $148  43|;  accumulated  capital  $1154  67. 


42 

'HOthyear  —  Accumulated  capital  $1223  95;  produce 
10  lbs;  value  of  cocoons  $025;  net  profit  $156  25; 
accumulated  capital  and  interest  $1463  ;  which  remains 
after  paying  for  the  land,  trees  and  shed,  together  with  the 
labor  of  gathering  the  leaves  and  feeding  the  worms,  and 
compound  interest  on  the  purchase  money  until  paid,  and 
the  land  and  trees  at  the  expiration  of  twenty  years 
worth  more  than  double  the  cost,  and  the  trees  will  proba- 
bly continue  to  increase  in  size  10  years  longer. 

I  think  this  calculation  of  the  produce  cannot  be  con- 
sidered exaggerated,  for  it  is  not  one-eighth  as  much  as 
Homergue  says  an  acre  will  produce.  Now  calculating 
10  acres  at  this  rate,  and  in  twenty  years  you  have 
the  establishment  clear  of  debt,  and  $14,630  in  money 
or,  100  acres,  and  you  have  $146,300.  And  further, 
these  calculations  are  made  on  the  supposition  that  the 
cocoons  are  sold  before  they  are  reeled  ;  and  if  a  Com- 
pany should  be  formed  with  a  sufficient  capital  for  reel- 
ing, throwsting  and  weaving,  and  manufacturing  silk  in 
various  ways,  the  business  would  undoubtedly  be  more 
profitable  than  raising  cocoons,  or  manufacturing  cotton 
or  wool.  Let  the  company  have  a  plantation  of  mulberry 
trees  of  150  or  200  acres,  and  carry  on  all  branches  of 
manufacturing  silk,  they  would  thereby  create  a  village 
of  industry  and  wealth,  and  produce  a  good  market  for 
the  necessaries  of  life,  and  increase  the  value  of  real 
estate  contiguous  thereto,  besides  having  stock  of  their 
own  without  buying,  and  in  the  end  of  acquiring  immense 
wealth  for  themselves,  by  converting  mulberry  leaves  into 
silk,  and  impoverishing  no  one. 

The  reader  is  requested  to  consider  that  these  calcula- 


43 

tions  are  predicated  upon  an  increase  of  half  a  pound  of 
leaves  a  year  to  a  tree  after  they  are  transplanted,  until 
they  are  full  grown,,  and  this  must  be  low  ;  for  in  Mans- 
field, Conn,  it  is  said  full-grown  trees  produce  from  50  to 
60  lbs.  each.  And  in  these  calculations  the  proprietor 
does  none  of  the  labor,  except  putting  the  leaves  out  on 
shares;  and  those  who  take  them  make  more  than  com- 
mon wages  at  the  business.  It  is  an  honorable  business, 
for  in  ancient  times  virtuous  women  were  clothed  with 
silk.     See  Proverbs,  xxxi,  10,22. 

Now,  let  a  young  man  of  21  years  of  age,  of  steady  hab- 
its purchase  such  an  establishment,  and  mortgage  it  for 
security  of  the  payment,  and  get  it  insured  against  fire 
and  other  casualties,  and  put  the  leaves  out  on  shares, 
and  work  himself  at  some  mechanical  or  agricultural  em- 
ployment, he  would  at  the  expiration  of  twenty  years,  if 
a  temperate  man,  undoubtedly  acquire  double  the  pro- 
perty which  the  greater  number  of  professional  men  at- 
tain to,  who  must  have  a  large  sum  expended  upon  them 
previous  to  commencing  business.  Upon  the  correctness 
of  the  foregoing  calculations  and  remarks,  every  one 
will  judge  for  himself. 


4* 


PART  II. 


ON  REARING  SILK  WORMS. 

The  silk  insect  affords  a  display  of  the  wisdom  of 
Divine  Providence  in  the  adaptation  of  means  to  ends, 
calculated   to  excite  high  interest  and  admiration. 

The  extraordinary  effect  produced  by  this  little  animal 
in  the  short  space  of  six  weeks  is  no  less  than  the  c  on- 
version  of  the  vegetable  substance  of  the  mulberry  leaf 
into  threads  of  rich  and  durable  silk.  Well  might  the 
Emperor  Justinian  be  astonished  to  find  that  the  rich  and 
beautiful  material  of  his  magnificent  robes  was  first  pro- 
duced and  worn  by  this  feeble  insect ;  and  well  might 
he  repay  with  munificence  the  monks  by  whose  exertions 
the  eggs  of  the  silk  worm  were  smuggled  in  a  hollow 
cane  from  India  to  Constantinople.  This  hollow  cane 
was  the  ark  whence  came  out  the  germ  of  those  numer- 
ous tribes  of  this  insect  which  have  spread  over  the  whole 
of  Europe,  and  whose  descendants  are  now  fast  settling 
in  these  United  States.  Let  us  commence  with  the  eggs 
of  this  insect,  and  trace  its  operations,  its  wants,  and 
various  changes,  till  it  forms  the  cocoon,  from  which  pro- 
ceeds the  moth,  which  in  its  turn  produces  the  egg. 


rJ.ATV  I . 


%J! 


^ 


J''V' 


rf.,s 


/'>/^,    ^ 


45 


THE    EGGS. 

The  eggs  are  of  small  size.*  When  first  laid,  they  are 
of  a  pale  yellow  color,  but  in  three  or  four  days  turn  to  a 
light  slate  color,  and  subsequently  to  a  dull  brownish  slate 
color.  Those  which  remain  yellow  have  not  been  fecun- 
dated, and  of  course  are  worthless.  The  most  proper 
place  for  keeping  the  eggs  until  they  are  wanted  for 
hatching  is  a  dry  cellar.  They  should  be  kept  in  a  tight 
box,  to  protect  them  from  mice  or  insects,  and  dry,  so 
that  the  mold  and  mildew  may  not  injure  them. 

THE     H.\TCHING,    LE.WES,    ETC. 

The  advance  of  the  season  determines  the  time  of 
hatching  the  eggs.  As  soon  as  the  leaf  of  the  mulberry 
begins  to  unfold  — which  is  generally  in  this  climate  (New 
England,)  the  latter  part  of  May  —  and  you  observe  that 
there  is  a  prospect  of  having  a  sufficient  quantity  of  food, 
it  is  time  to  expose  the  eggs  to  hatch.  No  other  process 
is  necessary  than  to  expose  them  to  the  air  in  a  room  ; 
they  hatch  voluntarily  in  a  day  or  two  after  the  exposure. 
Various  modes  are  adopted  in  Europe  —  hatching  them  in 
ovens,  carrying  them  about  the  person,  tSoc,  —  but  no- 
thing of  that  kind  is  necessary  here. 

It  is  best  to  preserve  those  insects  for  rearing,  that 
come  out  as  nearly  at  the  same  time  as  possible.  As  soon 
as  the  worms  begin  to  appear,!  lay  over  them  young  and 
tender  mulberry  leaves  ;  they  will  soon  attach  themselves 

*  Vide  Figure  1,  Plate  1. 
t  See  figure  2,  Plate  1. 


46 

to  the  leaves,  and  by  taking  hold  of  the  stems  of  the 
leaves,  you  may  remove  them  easily.  They  ought  now 
to  be  supplied  with  fresh  tender  leaves  three  times  a  day. 
As  the  leaves  when  very  young  will  dry  so  much  in  a 
short  time  if  exposed  to  the  air  as  to  be  unfit  for  use. 
you  may  put  them  in  a  glazed  vessel  or  keep  them  cover- 
ed in  a  cellar  or  cool  place ;  by  which  means  the  leaves 
may  be  kept  good  for  two  or  three  days.*  Besides,  it  is 
well  to  have  always  in  your  house  at  a  time,  a  stock  of 
leaves  sufficient  at  least  for  three  days'  provision  for  your 
worms  in  case  of  wet  weather.  If  leaves  are  given  when 
wet  they  will  cause  disease.  Be  careful  never  to  pull  the 
leaves  when  wet,  either  with  rain  or  dew, except  on  abso- 
lute necessity,  and  in  that  case  you  must  spread  them  and 
turn  them,  that  the  leaves  may  be  perfectly  dry  before  you 
give  them  to  the  worms ;  rats,  mice,  spiders,  ants  and 
fowls  are  very  destructive  to  the  worms ;  care  must  be 
taken  therefore  to  keep  them  out  of  the  way  of  all  such 
enemies. 

THE    NURSERY,    SHELVES,    ETC. 

In  Europe  laboratories  have  been  constructed  with 
great  care  and  expense ;  but  however  convenient  these 
may  be,    they   are  by  no  means   necessary    to  success  in 

"  Mr  D'H.  proposes  tlie  following  method  to  preserve  leaves  ; 
Put  them  under  cover  on  a  brick  pavement,  or  gravelled  lloor ; 
turn  tlicin  over  and  plice  them  further  where  it  is  not  damp  (for 
they  always  leave  a  dampness  where  they  lie)  three  or  four  times 
a  day  or  an  hour  before  you  feed  the  worms;  you  may  thus  keep 
them  three  or  four  days.     The  leaf  wants  air  to  keep  fresh. 


47 

rearing  silk  worms  ;  almost  any  building  will  answer  for 
that  purpose.  1  have  reared  them  myself  with  success  in 
a  barn,  in  ray  cellar  kitchen,  and  other  rooms  of  my 
dwelling-house,  and  in  the  lower  story  of  Tremont  House 
in  Boston.  It  was  found  in  France  that  the  cocoons 
brought  to  market  by  the  peasants,  raised  in  hovels  so 
full  of  cracks  as  easily  to  be  seen  through  and  to  admit 
the  air  freely,  were  richer  and  heavier  than  those  reared  in 
palaces  and  in  the  confined  rooms  of  dwellings  in  cities.* 
The  apparatus  of  the  Rev.  Mr  Swain,  I  should  think  might 
be  worth  adopting,  for  those  who  are  beginning  on  a  small 
scale;  in  fact  I  have  had  something  like  it  constructed 
for  my  own  use.  This  apparatus  consists  of  a  wooden 
frame  four  feet  two  inches  high,  each  side  ;  sixteen  inches 
and  a  half  wide,  divided  into  eight  partitions  by  small 
pieces  of  wood,  which  form  grooves  in  which  the  slides 
run  and  are  thus  easily  thrust  in  or  drawn  out  of  the 
frame. 

The  upper  side  is  of  paper  only  and  designed  to  re- 
ceive the  worms   as  soon   as  hatched ;  the  others  are  of 

*  I  saw  at  Philadelphia  on  the  21st  of  June  (1S31)  worms  raised 
by  Mr  D'Ho.i;ergue  in  a  yard  of  mulberry  trees,  which  bore 
heavy  rains  and  thunder  storms,  as  well  as  cold  windy  days,  a  few 
of  which  spun  in  30  days  and  produced  excellent  cocoons.  They 
began  to  mount  32  days  after  hatching.  I  also  saw  a  few  worms 
raised  from  eggs  which  were  laid  on  the  outside  of  a  brick  wall  in 
a  northern  exposure,  which  had  stood  all  the  severity  of  the  winter. 
I  saw  many  thousands  of  excellent  cocoons  raised  by  Mr  Du  Pon- 
ceau under  the  care  of  Mr  D'Homergue  in  the  heart  of  the  city  of 
Philadelphia.  I  tried  some  on  trees  in  the  open  air  the  present 
season  (1832)  but  they  did  not  succeed;  they  obtained  however  to 
a  considerable  size,  but  the  frequent  rains  destroyed  them. 


48 


wicker  work,  the  opening  being  about  a  quarter  of  an 
inch  square  :  under  each  of  these  are  slides.  This  occu- 
pies little  space  and  is  neat,  and  the  persons  using  it  can 
easily  remove  the  litter.  I  have  used  three  tiers  of  rough 
pine  boards  fixed  upon  upright  po.sts,  about  four  feet  in 
width,  one  above  the  other,  with  a  space  between  of  two 
and  a  half  feet,  aflbrdiug  room  sufficient  to  pass  all  round 
the  frame,  so  that  I  could  conveniently  reach  any  part  of 
it.  In  making  the  shelves  it  is  well  to  have  the  lowest 
one  six  inches  broader  than  the  one  above  it,  and  to  make 
the  same  difference  in  the  other  shelves  above,  so  as  to 
break  the  fall  of  such  worms  as  happen  to  tumble  down. 
A  good  form  for  the  shelves  is  that  adopted  by  Mr  J.  Y, 
Tomkins  of  Baltimore,  and  which  I  saw  in  the  nursery  of 
Gideon  B.  Smith,  Esq.  of  that  place.  It  is  about  2^  feet 
wide,  by  five  or  six  long,  made  of  thin  board*,  with  a  piece 
two  inches  wide  nailed  flat  on  the  upper  edge  along  the 
sides  and  ends,  with  legs  about  a  foot  long  in  the  corners. 
The  legs  do  not  pass  through  the  table,  but  leave  a  part  of 
the  hole  on  the  upper  side  for  the  feet  of  another  table  to 
set  in.  Thus  contrived,  five  or  six  of  these  tables  are  set 
one  above  another,  and  are  taken  down,  cleaned  and 
again  set  up  with  facility.  One  of  these  shelves  will  ac- 
commodate 500  worms.*  It  might  be  as  well  to  put  old 
newspapers  on  the  shelves,  which  might  be  taken  off 
whenever  it  was  necessary  to  clean  the  worms,  and  then 
replaced.  —  Thus  I  have  done. 

*  Farmers,  however,  who  would  make  it  profitable,  siiould  raise 
one  or  two  hundred  thousand,  and  rough  boards  will  make  the 
cheapest  and  most  ready  shelves  for  use  on  an  extensive  scale. 


49 


THE    DIFFERENT    AGES,    MOULTING,    ETC. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  silk  worms.*  The  most 
common  varieties  change  their  skins  four  different  times. 
These  changes  are  called  moultings,  and  the  intervening 
times  the  different  ages.  The  time  requisite  for  the 
several  changes  depends  greatly  on  the  temperature.  If 
the  weather  is  warm,  they  will  generally  happen  as  fol- 
lows ;  the  first  moulting  on  the  fourth  or  fifth  day  after 
the  hatching  ;  the  second  begins  on  the  eighth  day  ;  the 
third  on  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  days,  and  the  last 
change  on  the  twenty  second. 

The  fifth  age  lasts  about  ten  days;  at  the  end  of  which 
the  worms  have  reached  their  ultimate  growth,  being 
three  inches  in  length,  t  and  are  prepared  to  spin  their 
cocoons.  Thus  thirtytwo  days  intervene  between  the 
hatching  and  the  beginning  of  the  cocoon,  and  I  have 
known  the  period  retarded  to  sixty  days.  These  changes 
will  only  be  noticed  by  accurate  observers. 

FEEDING,    CLEARING    THE    LITTER,    ETC. 

Too  ?nany  leaves  should  not  be  given  to  them  at  once, 
and  the  leaves  given  should  be  spread  very  thin,  because 
if  put   on   too  .thick,  a  great  number  of  the  worms  when 

*  I  saw  in  the  Nursery  of  Gideon  B.  Smith,  Esq.  of  Baltimore 
four  different  varieties.  I  would  recommend,  as  most  profitable  for 
rearing,  the  large  white. 

t  See  figures  2,  3,  4,  5,  or  the  different  appearance  of  the  insect 
in  its  different  stages. 


50 


small  will  run  the  risk  of  being  lost  and  carried  out 
among  the  litter.  When  the  worms  are  in  the  first  age, 
you  need  only  clean  the  litter  once  or  twice,  as  you  find 
it  necessary.  During  the  whole  of  the  first  age,  the 
leaves  of  the  young  plants  of  the  mulberry,  as  being  the 
tenderest,  are  preferable  to  the  leaves  of  older  trees  for 
the  food  of  the  young  worms.  It  is  well  therefore  to  sow 
some  mulberry  seed  every  year  so  as  to  have  a  succession 
of  young  plants.  During  the  temporary  sickness  produced 
by  the  changing  of  the  skin  they  should  be  fed  with  a 
very  sparing  hand.  The  sign,  by  which  it  is  known  that 
worms  are  sick  and  about  to  change  their  skins,  are  these  . 
they  hold  their  heads  up,  are  motionless  and  appear  to 
sleep  ;  —  this  should  be  noticed. 

During  the  second  age  it  is  advisable  still  to  continue  to 
feed  your  worms  with  leaves  from  the  young  plants,  as 
they  are  still  preferable  for  them.  You  must  now  begin 
to  be  attentive  to  clear  away  the  litter  from  time  to  time, 
so  as  to  prevent  all  danger  from  its  heating,  which  proves 
highly  injurious,  though  some  people  never  clear  away 
the  litter  at  all.  These  insects  are  remarkably  fond  of 
cleanliness,  which  besides  helps  to  enliven  them  and 
gives  them  a  keen  appetite  for  the  leaves  that  are  given 
them.  The  litter  is  taken  away  in  the  following  manner  ; 
you  scatter  some  fresh  leaves  upon  one  corner  of  the  shelf, 
to  which  the  worms  having  attached  themselves,  which 
th^y  will  readily  do,  you  then  take  up  the  worms  by  means 
of  the  leaves  and  stalks  they  cling  to,  leaving  the  litter 
underneath.  Having  thus  taken  up  all  the  worms  from 
that  corner  and  placed  them  in  a  clean  place,  you  then 
clear  away  the  litter  from  that  corner  and  carefully  sweep 


51 


together  with  a  little  broom  or  wing,  all  the  dirt,  which 
you  remove  entirely :  you  then  remove  the  worms  next 
adjoining  to  the  clean  place  thus  prepared  and  put  them 
into  it ;  in  this  manner  you  proceed  with  the  rest.* 

During  the  third  age  the  full  grown  leaves  of  the 
largest  trees  may  be  given  —  though  it  would  be  well  to 
reserve  the  largest  and  toughest  leaves  till  the  last  age, 
when  they  are  the  most  voracious.  During  the  third 
age,  the  litter  should  be  removed  at  least  three  or  four 
times ;  worms  that  die  or  appear  to  be  diseased  should 
be  immediately  removed. 

The  same  treatment  will  be  required  during  the  fourth 
and  fifth  ages  as  in  the  preceding.  As  they  advance  ia 
age  the  greater  will  be  the  proportion  of  food  required  and 
the  oftener  the  litter  must  be  removed  ;  by  these  means 
the  process  is  sooner  brought  to  a  conclusion,  and  the 
worms  always  kept  in  high  health  and  appetite.  During 
the  four  or  five  days  previous  to  their  rising,  the  worms 
consume  an  incredible  quantity  of  leaves,  eating  with 
great  voracity,  and  at  this  time  the  labor  of  tending  them 
is  most  fatiguing.  You  will  know  when  the  worms  are  ripe 
or  ready  to  rise  and  form  their  cocoons  by  observing  them 
with  attention  when  you  give  fresh  leaves.  Those  that 
are  ripe,  instead  of  eating,  avoid  the  fresh  leaves,  and 
run  over  them  as  fast  as  they  can  wander  about,  and  try 
to  climb ;  they  will  look  transparent,  of  the  color  of  a 
green  gage  plum,  and  somewhat  diminished  in  size. 

*  If  the  worms  are  laid  on  a  newspaper,  it  is  easy  to  take  out  the 
newspaper,  lay  it  on  a  table,  and  transport  the  worms,  who  gener- 
ally adhere  to  the  leaves  and  branches,  to  another  newspaper, 
which  is  put  on  the  shelf  after  sweeping  it.  The  litter  on  the  other 
one  may  then  be  thiown  a.vay. 

5 


52 


In  the  fifth  age  the  worms  should  have  new  leaves  as 
often  as  the  old  ones  are  consumed,  until  they  are  observ- 
ed to  creep  on  the  leaves  without  eating.  At  night  they 
should  have  a  double  portion. 

PREPARATIONS    FOR    THE    COCOONS. 

Previous  to  the  rising  of  the  worms,  some  little  arches 
or  cabins  should  have  been  prepared  of  brushwood  or 
broom  corn,  by  setting  their  branches  with  their  top 
spread,  pressing  against  the  bottom  of  the  upper  shelf  to 
hold  them  in  their  position.  The  worms  will  readily  find 
and  climb  these  little  trees  and  spin  their  cocoons  in 
them ;  the  worms  will  be  three  or  four  days  spinning 
their  cocoons,*  and  they  will  all  generally  be  finished  in 
eight  days.  The  brush  may  then  be  taken  down,  the 
cocoons  taken  off",  cleared  of  the  loose  tow  and  prepared 
for  reeling.      I  have  found  that  the  branches  of  the  oak, 

'  Dr  Pascalis  of  New  York,  a  gentleman  of  great  literary  reputa- 
tion and  highly  scientific  attainments,  has  by  the  uso  of  f^leclricity 
been  enabled  to  hasten  the  progress  of  silk  insects ;  ami  worms 
reared  by  him,  to  which  this  powerful  agent  was  applied,  have  spun 
their  cocoons  in  27  days  from  the  time  they  were  hatched.  I  have 
never  made  any  experiments  in  this  way  myself,  but  doubt  not 
that  this,  as  well  as  many  other  improvements  will  bo  introduced. 
The  same  gentleman  has  also  recommended  in  his  valuable  work, 
the  Silk  Culturist,  (No.  2,  page  105)  artificial  mounting  slides,  upon 
which  the  worms  may  mount  and  spin  their  cocoons.  Those  who 
have  curiosity  to  see  these  improvements,  will  find  a  drawing  of 
them  in  the  work  referred  to. 

*  See  the  Cocoon,  Fig.  7,  Plate   1. 


53 


with  the  leaves  on,  answered  the  purpose  for  these  arches 
very  well,  as  the  leaves  are  strong  and  do  not  crumble 
in  taking  oif  the  silk.  They  should  be  cut  some  days 
before  hand,  and  be  dry  when  used.  Some  prefer  to 
have  the  brushwood,  entirely  stripped  of  ils  leaves,  Mr 
Smith  of  Baltimore,  uses  and  recommends  the  broom 
corn. 

SEED    COCOONS. 

Those  cocoons  that  are  intended  for  seed  may  be 
Stripped  of  their  tow  and  strung  upon  a  thread  —  care  be- 
ing taken  not  to  pierce  entirely  through  the  cocoons  —  and 
hung  up  until  such  time  as  the  moths  come  out,*  which 
will  be  in  one  or  two  weeks,  when  the  males  and  females 
will  couple  ;  they  may  be  taken  by  the  wings  in  pairs 
without  separating  them  and  placed  on  large  sheets  of 
paper,  (old  newspapers  will  do,)  where  they  are  to  re- 
main ;  as  many  pairs  of  moths  as  can  conveniently  lie  on 
the  papers  may  be  placed  there.  The  room  in  which 
these  are  placed  should  be  secure  from  mice  and  ants, 
and  the  sun  should  not  be  permitted  to  shine  on  them  in 
any  stage  of  their  existence  ;  as  soon  as  the  moths  on 
one  sheet  have  done  laying  their  eggs,  it  should  be  folded 
up  and  put  down  cellar,  or  in  some  cool,  dry  place  until 
wanted  for  use  the  next  spring. 

The  moths  (see  fig.)  are  in  the  form  of  a  grayish 
white  butterfly  and  generally  begin  to  lay  their  eggs  in 
24  to  36  hours,  after  leaving  the  cocoon.  Each  female 
moth  will  lay  from  three  so  four  hundred   eggs,  general- 

*  See  the  Fly,  Fig.  S,  Plate  1. 


54 


ly  handsomely  disposed  and  firmly  attaclied   to  the  paper 
in  a  circular  form. 

Should  the  eggs  be  permitted  to  remain  exposed  to 
the  warm  weather,  they  will  sometimes  hatch  the  same 
season,  and  unless  another  crop  be  desired,  they  will  be 
lost.  The  moths  eat  nothing  after  leaving  the  cocoons, 
and  die  in  a  few  days  after  depositing  the  eggs. 

DISEASES    OF    SILK    WORMS. 

The  foreign  writers  enumerate  and  describe  a  variety  of 
diseases  to  which  silk  worms  are  liable  in  their  different 
ages,  and  particularly  in  the  fifth,  which  all  agree  to  be  the 
most  critical.  But  to  all  these  diseases  they  prescribe  the 
same  means  of  prevention  and  the  same  remedies  when 
they  have  occurred.  It  is  therefore  unnecessary  to  de- 
scribe their  various  symptoms,  as  it  would  lead  to  no  good 
practical  result. 

The  diseases  of  silk  worms  generally  arise  from  the 
want  of  sufficient  air  and  space,  from  their  not  being 
kept  dry,  and  being  fed  with  damp  leaves,  and  also  from 
their  not  being  kept  sufficiently  clean,  particularly  in  the 
fifth  age.  The  fermentation  of  their  litter,  the  dampness 
and  the  bad  air  which  it  occasions,  are  the  most  frequent 
causes  of  mortality  among  them.  The  greatest  care 
therefore  should  be  taken  to  keep  them  constantly  clean 
and  dry,  and  to  give  them  a  sufficient  quantity  of  space 
and  air ;  a  current  of  air  in  fine  warm  days,  should  al- 
ways be  let  into  their  nursery.  If,  notwithstanding  all  the 
care  taken,  some  general  sickness  should  declare  itself 
among  them,  the  remedy  recommended  by  the  writers,  is, 


55 


to  give  them  a  change  of  air,  by  transporting  them  into 
another  room.  But  this  may  not  always  be  convenient. 
It  is  with  these  animals,  as  with  our  species,  easier  to 
prevent  diseases  than  to  cure  them.  If  nothing  better 
can  be  done,  the  diseased  worms  must  be  thrown  away. 
The  chloride  of  lime  and  soda  have  been  used  with  good 
effect  in  some  nurseries  to  cleanse  the  air. 

Before  the  worms  begin  to  mount  and  spin  their  co- 
coons, they  void  themselves  of  their  excrements,  and  they 
generally  do  it  on  or  near  the  edge  of  the  board  on  which 
they  are  placed.  Those  who  have  not  strength  enough 
to  cast  off  their  excrements,  die  in  the  attempt,  and  in  the 
morning  numbers  of  them  are  found  dead.  They  should 
be  carefully  taken  up  and  thrown  away.  When  many 
are  found  in  that  condition,  it  is  a  sign  that  the  litter  is 
fermenting  and  that  a  cleaning  is  necessary. 

It  is  possible  that  there  may  be  diseases  of  the  silk 
worms  peculiar  to  the  climate.  Experience  will  enlight- 
en us  on  the  subject.  I  have  heard  that  ladies  in  one  of 
our  Southern  States  have  lost  all  their  worms  this  year, 
from  \\\e  plague  getting  in  among  them.  It  is  certain  that 
there  are  epidemic  disorders  by  which  whole  nurseries 
of  silk  worms  are  sometimes  destroyed.  But  these  are 
of  rare  occurrence  in  our  country  ;  and  it  is  hoped  that 
they  may  be  prevented  by  careful  attention  to  the  rules 
prescribed. 

CURING    THE    COCOONS. 

Were  it  possible  to  wind  off  all  the  cocoons  before  the 
insect  naturally  pierces  them,  it  would  be  best  to  do   it, 
because  the  silk  at  that  time  winds  off  with  greater  ease 
5* 


56 


than   afterwards.     But  as  this  is  sometimes   impossible 
and  often  inconvenient,  various  methods  have  been  de- 
vised to  stifle  the  chrysales  in  the  cocoons.     This  may  be 
done  by  placing  them  in  an  oven,  moderately  heated,  or 
in  the  steam  of  boiling  water  ;  even  the  sun  is   sufficient 
for  this  purpose   in   southern    latitudes,  by   acting  upon 
them   several  days.     I   have  used  the  first    method  with 
success.     The   oven    being  moderately   heated,  the  co- 
coons were   spread   out,  in  oblong  baskets  eight    inches 
deep,  in  box   covers,  pans,  &c,  and   permitted  to  remain 
in  the  oven  half  an  hour.     In  being  cured  they  lose  about 
twentyfive  per    cent  in  weight.     Mr  Smith  of  Baltimore, 
says,  he  has  found  the  following  method  preferable  to  any 
other,  and  that  the  object  is  perfected   without  danger  of 
injuring  the  silk.     I  put  the  cocoons,  says  he,  into  a  tight 
tin  vessel  with  a  cover,  closely  fitted,  and  put  this  vessel 
into  another  a  little   larger,    containing    such  quantity  of 
water  as  will  nearly  fill  it,  when  the  other  is  put  into  it. 

Fire  is  then  applied,  and  the  water  kept  boiling,  half 
an  hour  or  more,  according  to  the  size  of  the  vessel,  and 
until  the  cocoons  in  the  inner  vessel  shall  have  become  as 
hot  as  the  boiling  water.  The  cocoons  are  then  spread 
out  in  a  dry  room,  that  the  moisture  may  evaporate. 
Afier  this  operation,  the  cocoons  are  ready  for  the  reel 
or  for  sale.* 

*  This  might  do,  peihap-i,  for  a  small  quantity  of  cocoons,  but  I 
think,  for  a  large  one,  it  would  cost  too  much,  and  give  too  much 
trouble. 


57 

SPACE    REQUIRED    FOR    SILK    WORMS. 

It  is  calculated  that  the  worms  proceeding  from  one 
ounce  of  eggs,  which  in  numbers  are  estimated  at  35  to 
40,000,  should  have  a  space  on  the  shelves, 

squ.  ft.  in. 

In  the  1st  age  of 7      4 

In  the  2d  age  of 14      8 

In  the  3cl  age  of 34    10 

In  the  4th  age  of 82      6 

In  the  5th  age  of 183      4 

As  a  general  rule  they  ought  not  touch  one  another. 

QUANTITIES     OF      SILK     YIELDED     BY    VARIOUS    PARCELS 
OF    COCOONS. 

Eight  pounds  of  cocoons  (16  ozs.  to  the  pound,)  pro- 
duced from  ]6  to  18  ounces  of  silk,  6  to  9  cocoons  to 
the  thread.  Mrs  Williams  obtained  nearly  one  ounce 
and  a  half,  from  244  cocoons. 

Miss  Rhodes  had  on  an  average  one  ounce  from  244 
cocoons. 

The  estimates  of  the  number  of  worms  to  make  a 
pound  of  spun  silk  are  various. 

Mr  Storrs,  of  Conn,  says  4000^  Mr  Tufts,  of  Dudley, 
3000  ;  Mr  D'Homergue  says  2400,  of  350  to  a  pound, 
the  moth  not  stifled. 

I  should  say  the  last  estimate  was  the  most  correct,  and 
even  a  less  number  will  produce  a  pound  if  they  are  well 
taken  care  of.  I  have  had  three  pounds  from  8000  in 
one  season  including  floss. 


58 


WRIGHT    OF    COCOONS. 


Two  hundred  cocoons,  from  worms  raised  in  the  early 
settlement  of  Georgia,  weighed  a  pound.  In  Pennsyl- 
vania, 30G  cocoons  from  worms  fed  by  the  late  Mr  Busti, 
and  from  490  to  000  in  the  establishment  of  Mr  Terho- 
ven,  weighed  a  pound.* 

It  is  very  evident  that  there  is  a  great  difference  in  the 
weight  as  well  as  the  quality  of  cocoons  ;  and  the  quanti- 
ty required  to  make  a  pound  of  reeled  silk.  This  may 
depend  upon  the  different  variety  of  the  worms  or  the 
greater  or  less  care  in  nursing  them. 

The  following  calculation  of  the  labor  attending  and 
connected  with  the  culture  of  silk,  is  by  John  Fitch,  Esq. 
of  Mansfield,  Conn,  and  is  taken  from  the  manual  pub- 
lisher by  order  of  Congress.  One  acre  of  full  grown 
mulberry  trees,  set  one  and  a  half  rods  apart,  will  pro- 
duce 40  pounds  of  silk. 

The  labor  may  be  estimated  as  follows  : 

*  Mr  Pintaid  of  Philadelphia,  has  raised  Silk  Worms  from  eggs 
produced  on  Messrs  Teihoven's  faiin,  335  of  the  cocoons  of  those 
worms,  cht-ysales  not  killed,  weighed  one  pound.  PJr  D'Homer- 
gue  aided  him  in  counting  and  weighing  them. 

Of  the  cocoons  raised  in  Philadelphia  hy  Mr  D'Homergue  the 
present  year,  which  I  saw,  the  eggs  were  partly  from  South  Caro- 
lina and  partly  from  France  ;  the  former  were  large  and  were  fouud 
when  weighed,  to  contain  .337  to  a  pound.  The  Frencli  cocoons 
were  small,  and  ."587  weighed  one  pound.  The  chrysalis  not  stifled 
and  the  cocoons  just  gathered. 

Of  cocoons  raised  in  Massachusetts,  by  Mrs  Davenport  of  Milton, 
from  eggs  furnished  hy  mc,  and  tended  agreeably  to  my  instruc- 
tion, 206  weighed  one  pound,  before  the  chrysales  were  killed,  and 
407  weighed  two  pounds. 


69 


For  the  three  first  weeks  after  the  worms  are  hatched 
one  woman  who  is  acquainted  with  the  business,  or  chil- 
dren who  would  be  equal  to  such  a  person. 

For  the  next  twelve  or  fourteen  days,  five  hands  or 
what  would  be  equal  to  five  if  performed  by  children. 
In  this  period  two  men  with  other  help  would  be  employed 
to  better  advantage  than  all  women  and  children.  This 
period  finishes  with  the  worms.  For  picking  of  the  balls 
and  reeling  the  silk,  it  will  require  about  the  same  amount 
of  labor  for  the  same  length  of  time  as  the  last  mentioned 
period,  which  may  all  be  performed  by  women  and  chil- 
dren. The  aforesaid  labor  and  board  may  be  estimated 
at  eighty  dollars  ;  spinning  the  silk  at  thirtyfour  dollars; 
forly  pounds  of  silk,  at  the  lowest  cash  price  is  worth  two 
hundred  dollars,  which  makes  the  following  results. 

40  pounds  silk  at  $5  per  pound     -  -         -      $200,00 

Labor  and  board         ...         -         80,00 

Spinning 34,00 

114,00 

Net  profit  per  acre  $86,00 

The  principal  part  of  the  labor  may  be  performed  by  wo- 
men and  children.  But  when  the  business  is  carried  on  to  a 
considerable  extent,  it  is  considered  more  profitable  to  era- 
ploy  some  men  for  the  last  period  of  the  worms. 

COST    OF    RAISING    SILK    BY    3IR    d'hOMERGUE. 

Four  ounces  of  eggs,  each  ounce  containing  about 
35,000  eggs,  making,  in  all,  140,000  eggs. 


GO 


Jf  the  mulberry  trees  are  on  the  farm  where  the  eggs 
are  raised,  two  vvoaieu  are  sufficient  to  gather  the  leaves, 
until  the  fourth  moulting.  The  worms  should  be  fed 
three  times  a  day,  and  cleaned  once  after  each  moulting. 

In  the  last  ten  days  additional  help  is  necessary,  as 
the  worms  require  more  frequent  cleaning,  in  consequence 
of  the  greater  quantity  of  leaves  which  they  consume  ; 
and  to  prevent  fermentation,  and  consequent  sickness, 
more  attention  is  required  at  this  time. 

Mr  Du  Ponceau  has  raised  seven  ounces  of  eggs  with 
only  the  labor  of  two  persons,  and  these  not  employed 
the  whole  of  each  day,  except  on  the  last  ten  days,  and 
some  occasional  help,  who  were  employed  to  bring  leaves 
from  the  country,  two  miles  distant.  In  the  three  first 
weeks,  one  person  could  have  done  the  whole  business, 
except  gathering  and  bringing  the  leaves.  This  was 
done  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

The  following  is  the  calculation  of  Mr  D'Homergue. 

An  acre*  contains  45,537  square  feet.  1500  mulberry 
trees,  six  years  old,  will  produce  each  30  lbs.  of  leaves, 
which  makes  45,000  lbs.  An  acre  will  contain  1500  mul- 
berry trees,  planted  at  the  distance  of  twelve  square  feet 
from  each  other.  This  is  in  case  it  is  wished  to  grovi^ 
corn  or  wheat  in  the  intervals  between  the  trees. 
But  if  the  ground  is  to  be  devoted  to  mulberry  trees  alone, 
3000  trees  maybe  planted  on  an  acre  at  six  square  feet 
distance,  and  these  at  six  years  old  will  produce  90,000 
lbs.  of  leaves.  Selling  the  leaves  at  half  a  cent  per 
pound,  the  purchaser  gathering  them,  or  at  one  cent  per 

*  It  is  evident  that  Mr  D'Homergue  does  not  mean  the  English 
acre. 


61 


pound  delivered  to  the  purchaser,  would  produce  in  the 
first  case  8900,  in  the  latter  $450. 

According  to  the  calculation  of  Dandolo,  which  appears 
exaggerated,  90,000  pounds  of  leaves,  at  twentyone 
pounds  of  leaves  for  one  pound  of  cocoons,  would  pro- 
duce at  least  3700  lbs.  of  cocoons,  which,  at  twentyfive 
cents  per  pound  (the  moth  not  being  stifled,)  would  pro- 
duce $925.  After  killing  the  chrysalids,  the  cocoons, 
will  produce  a  higher  price,  say  thirty,  forty,  or  perhaps 
fifty  cents  per  pound,  according  to  the  quality  and  the 
abundance,  or  scarcity  of  the  articles,  and  the  profit  will 
be  proportionate. 

The  said  3700  pounds  of  cocoons,  being  good  and 
well  reeled,  will  produce,  at  .eight  pounds  of  cocoons 
for  one  pound  of  silk,  420  pounds  of  the  raw  article 
which  at  S3  per  pound,  the  price  China  silk  sells  for  in 
our  seaports,  will  amount  to  $1260  ;  and  if  perfectly.well 
reeled  and  suited  to  the  European  market  may  produce 
$2520,  at  the  rate  of  $6  per  pound. 


PART  III 


REELING  AND  MANUFACTURING  SILK. 

Those  who  do  not  chose  to  proceed  any  farther  in  the 
business  than  to  raise  the  cocoons,  may  realize  a  reward 
for  their  industry,  by  selling  the  silk  in  that  shape.  There 
will  probably  be  regular  advertisements  in  the  papers, 
offering  cash  for  cocoons  ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  that 
there  will  soon  be  established  throughout  the  United 
States  a  regular  market  price  for  the  article. 

But  as  raw  silk  is  the  shape  in  which  the  article  must 
be  sent  to  foreign  manufacturers,  if  exported,  and  in 
which  it  meets  with  a  cash  market  in  almost  every  part 
of  Europe,  and  in  many  parts  of  our  own  country  ;  it  be- 
comes of  great  importance  that  we  should  reel  the  co- 
coons, at  least,  and  that  in  the  most  economical  and  pro- 
fitable manner.  The  art  of  reeling  was  formerly  carried 
on  to  considerable  extent  in  Georgia,  and  large  quantities 
of  raw  silk  were  exported.  It  has  been  carried  on  in 
Connecticut  for  seventy  years,  in  a  way  which  will  be 
mentioned  hereafter.  Dr  Franklm  addres.sed  a  letter  on 
the  subject  to  Dr  Cadwallader  Evans,  from  London,  Jan- 


63 


uary  15,  1770.  The  Philosophical  Society  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, to  whom  he  sent  the  work  of  the  Abbe  Sauvage,  a 
summary  of  which  has  been  published  by  Mr  Odell,  of 
Burlington,  resolved  to  petition  the  Legislature  for  the  en- 
couragement of  this  new  branch  of  industry,  and  propos- 
ed to  raise  a  fund  by  subscription,  for  the  purchase  of  co- 
coons and  a  filature.  Eight  hundred  and  seventyfive 
pounds,  were  obtained  the  first  year  among  the  citizens, 
and  this  money  was  laid  out  for  the  purpose.  But  unfor- 
tunately the  war  of  the  Revolution  put  a  stop  to  the 
scheme.  Lately,  however,  Peter  S.  Du  Ponceau,  Esq.  of 
Philadelphia,  the  friend  and  companion  in  arms  of  Lafay- 
ette, has  made  successful  exertions  in  this  department. 
He  has  associated  to  his  labors  Monsieur  J.  D'Homergue, 
who  is  a  native  of  Nismes  in  France  and  was  educated  in 
that  country  in  an  extensive  manufactory  of  silk,  and  is 
familiar  with  all  the  processes  used  in  that  country. 
These  gentlemen  have  published  a  valuable  series  of  es- 
says on  the  subject  of  silk  culture,  the  impulse  of  which 
has  been  felt  throughout  the  Union,  and  their  publication 
has  on  the  whole,  thrown  great  light  on  the  general  sub- 
ject. And  although  the  establishment  of  a  national 
school  of  filature  as  contemplated  by  these  gentlemen, 
has  not  yet  received  the  patronage  of  the  government, 
there  is  strong  reason  to  believe  that  something  will  be 
done  to  aid  this  business  by  Congress  at  a  future  session. 
Mr  Du  Ponceau  sent  me  some  of  the  silk  reeled  by  Mr 
D'Homergue  the  last  year,  which  was  of  excellent  quali- 
ty. I  had  it  throwsted  and  returned  to  him.  In  a  late 
letter  to  me  Mr  Du  Ponceau  stated  that  he  had  been  hon- 
ored with  letters  from  all  parts  of  the  continent  from  Maine 
6 


64 


to  Louisiana,  requesting  information  on  this  subject. 
That  the  impulse  given  by  the  operations  of  Congress  had 
been  felt  even  in  Europe  ;  that  he  had  caused  one  hun- 
dred copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Agriculture 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States,  to 
be  printed  in  English,  and  one  hundred  in  French,  and 
to  be  disseminated  throughout  Europe.  The  result  had 
been  that  numbers  of  silk  manufacturers,  throwsters, 
dyers  and  weavers,  had  come  to  this  country  from  Eng- 
land, France  and  Germany,  having  heard  at  home  that 
the  silk  business  was  encouraged  here;  but  they  have 
found  no  work  for  want  of  raw  silk,  and  were  obliged  to 
turn  to  the  cotton  manufactories  for  employment.  That 
no  reelers  were  among  them.  Mr  D.  had  about  sixty 
pounds  of  raw  silk  reeled  at  his  filature,  which  he  has 
sent  to  different  markets  to  try  the  prices.* 

*  Since  writing  the  above  I  have  visited  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
and  was  politely  favored  by  Mr  Du  Ponceau,  with  liberty  to  make 
several  visits  to  his  nursery  and  filature.  The  filature  was  estab- 
lished by  Mr  Du  Ponceau  under  the  direction  of  Mr  D'Homergue, 
in  which  ten  reels  have  been  employed,  eacli  of  which  is  worked 
by  two  women  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr  D'Homergue. 
This  filature  is  not  in  a  room,  but  under  a  shed  entirely  open  on 
one  side  with  hangings  from  the  roof  on  the  other,  which  may  be 
opened  when  required  to  promote  a  free  circulation  of  air.  The 
reels  of  this  filature  are  made  cliiefly  on  the  model  of  the  Pied- 
montese  reel,  (vide  plate)  somewhat  simplified  by  Mr  D'Homergue. 
Mr  D'Homergue  put  one  of  these  reels  in  operation  in  my  presence, 
and  it  appeared  to  work  very  easily.  The  silk  reeled  by  Mr 
D'Homergue,  at  that  time,  I  have  preserved  as  a  specimen,  and 
have  since  been  informed  by  an  intelligent  merchant  of  New  York, 
that  it  would  bring  seven  dollars  a  pound  in  France.  I  was  also 
shown  several  parcels  of  sewing  silk,  manufactured  by  Mr  D'Hoin- 


65 


Mr  D'Homergue  divides  the  raw  silk  into  three  quali- 
ties, graduated  according  to  their  different  degrees  of 
fineness.  These  different  qualities,  before  they  undergo 
the  operations  that  are  to  fit  them  for  the  loom,  are  dis- 
tinguished as  first,  second  and  third  qualities  beginning 
with  the  finest.  They  assume  other  names  as  soon  as 
they  have  been  prepared  and  ma^e  fit  for  the  manufac- 
turer. Then  they  have  ceased  to  be  raw  silk,  and  they 
are  called  singles,  organzine  and  tram  silks,  according 
to  their  different  degrees  of  fineness,  and  the  manner  in 
which  they  have  been  passed  through  a  certain  machine 
called  a  mill. 

Singles  (called  in  French  le  poil)  that  is  to  say,  hair 
silk,  is  made  of  the  first  quality  of  raw  silk,  consequently 
the  finest,  as  the  name  implies.  It  is  made  of  a  single 
thread.  This  silk  is  used  for  the  woof  of  the  lighter 
stuffs,  the  warp  which  is  made  of  cotton  thread. 

Organzine  (in  French  organsins)  is  the  next  in  fine- 
ness. It  is  employed  in  weaving  to  make  the  warp  of 
those  stuffs,  that  are  made  entirely  of  silk. 

'J'ram  silk  (in  French  La  frame)  which  means  woof 
silk,  is  thickest  of  the  three  and  is  the  thread  of  which 
is  made  the  woof  of  silk  stuffs. 

Of  the  three  qualities  of  raw  silk  of  which  these  differ- 
ent threads  are  made,   the  second,    that    which   makes 

ergue,  from  the  rcfijse  cocoons.  I  take  this  opportunity  to  acknowl- 
edge the  fiiirness  anJ  liberality  of  these  gentlemen  in  introduc- 
ing me  to  every  department  of  the  silk  business,  and  for  the  polite 
attentions  I  received  from  them  during  a  visit  of  two  or  three  days 
to  their  city.  —  Ed. 


66 


organzine,  is  the  most  in  demand  in  foreign  markets. 
It  was  in  extracting  the  silk  to  form  this  quality  that 
Mr  D'Homorgue  discovered  the  superior  fineness  of  the 
American  silk,  by  finding  that  it  required  a  much  greater 
quantity  of  threads  to  produce  the  different  qualities  of 
raw  silk  above-mentioned  than  the  cocoons    of  Europe. 

In  regard  to  the  imperfect  cocoons,  Mr  D'Homergue 
makes  use  of  the  excellent  paragraph  from  scripture, 
'  gather  up  the  fragments  that  nothing  remain.'  He  says 
there  are  a  great  variety  of  these,  whose  threads  are  not 
susceptible  of  being  prepared  for  the  manufacture  of  silk 
stuffs.  They  are  called  in  French  chiques.  The  mate- 
rial extracted  from  these  cocoons  is  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  sewing  silk.  This  silk  is  of  two  kinds, 
each  of  which  has  its  first  and  second  quality.  The 
name  of  sewing  silk  is  exclusively  appropriated  to  the 
finest  of  these  two  species,  the  other  is  called  cordonnet 
or  twist. 

The  sewing  silk,  so  called,  is  employed  in  the  sewing 
of  silk  stuffs,  the  cordonnet  is  used  for  working  button- 
holes, and  working  woollen  and  cotton  stuffs.  The  one 
is  for  the  use  of  tailors,  the  other  for  milliners  and  man- 
tau-makers.  Tailors  employ  it  only  in  the  more  delicate 
works.  The  raw  silk  for  these  purposes  is  e.\lracted  from 
the  bad  cocoons,  reeled  and  wound  into  skeins,  according 
to  its  different  degrees  of  fineness,  in  the  same  manner 
and  by  the  same  process  (varying  only  in  details)  as  that 
intended  to  be  used  for  the  manufacture  of  fine  stuffs. 
It  is  sold  in  market  under  the  name  of  raw  silk,  but  does 
not  bear  so  high  a  price  as  the  other. 

There  is  a  loose,  furzy  substance  on  the  outside  of  the 


67 


cocoons,  which  is  neither  fit  for  use  in  the  silk  manufac- 
tory, nor  for  sewing  silk.  This  is  commonly  called  floss. 
To  this  are  added  all  which  either  from  some  defect  in 
the  cocoons  or  from  the  awkwardness  of  the  reeler,  either 
break  or  come  out  uneven,  or  are  otherwise  unfit  for  use, 
and  which  are  called  waste  silk.  This  mass  boiled  in 
soap  and  water,  and  afterwards  carded  and  spun  on  the 
spinning  wheel,  makes  excellent  yarn  for  stockings. 

Mr  D'Homergue  classes  the  ditferent  kinds  of  silk  ex- 
tracted from  the  cocoons  into  six  different  kinds,  viz. 

1st,  Silk  of  the  first  quality  or  singles. 

2d,  Silk  of  the  second  quality  or  organzine, 

3d,  Silk  of  the  third  quality  or  tram  silk. 

4th,  Sewing  Silk  of  the  first  and  2d  quality. 

5th,  Cordoiinet  or  twist  Silk  of  the  first  and  2d  quality. 

6th,  Floss  Silk. 

The  whole  of  the  labor  of  extracting  these  difTerent 
silks  from  the  cocoons,  and  all  the  preparatory  work  un- 
til it  is  put  to  the  mill  is  done  in  France  by  women,  who 
have  separate  tasks  assigned  to  them  in  each  of  the 
various  complicated  branches  of  this  business  ;  the  work- 
shops are  superintended  by  an  overseer  who  is  master  of 
the  whole  business. 

Mr  Murray,  a  European  writer,  says  that  he  visited  an 
establishment  for  unwinding  the  silk  at  Buffalora  on  the 
Milanese  frontier.  Women  were  arranged  opposite  each 
other  and  conducted  the  process;  the  cocoons  contained 
in  baskets  on  one  side,  were  thrown  by  handfuls  into 
cauldrons  of  water,  kept  boiling  by  charcoal  fires  be- 
neath. Each  (by  a  whisk  of  peeled  birch)  collected  the 
threads  en  masse ;  the  first  confused  portions  were  re- 
6* 


68 


jected  till  the  threads  unwound  regularly,  frecl)  passing 
over  the  glass  rods  to  prevent  the  injuries  of  friction. 
The  first  portions,  necessarily  useless,  are  separated  by  the 
hand.  When  the  thread  came  off  uniformly,  the  co- 
coons were  raised,  suspended  to  the  hand  by  their  re- 
spective threads,  and  thus  handed  over  to  those  on  the 
opposite  side,  who  in  their  turn  threw  them  into  cauldrons 
of  water,  the  temperature  of  which  was  nearly  that  of 
blood  heat  and  more  than  milk  warm,  thus  sustained  by  a 
steam  pipe.  The  water  was  thus  kept  clean  and  the 
silk  preserved  pure  and  unsoiled  ;  from  these  the  threads 
were  finally  wound.  The  proprietor  informed  him  that 
this  establishment  cost  about  C0,000  francs,  or  about 
twelve  thousand  dollars. 

This  was  probably  Gensoul's  apparatus,  on  which 
great  encomiums  have  been  passed.  In  this  apparatus 
the  water  is  heated  by  steam  ;  but  it  is  expensive  and 
has  not  yet  got  into  general  use  even  in  Europe. 

We  in  America  are  not  obliged  to  pur.'^uc  the  same 
couise  that  is  followed  in  Europe.  The  ingenuity  and 
intelligence  of  our  community  will  soon  arrange  a  reeling 
apparatus  by  the  family  fireside  ;  and  that  part  of  the  year 
which  cannot  be  employed  in  rearing  the  worms  will  be 
advantageously  improved  in  reeling  the  cocoons  to  any 
given  pattern  or  degree  of  fineness ;  nor  is  there  in  fact 
any  iDore  difficulty  in  it  than  in  the  manufacture  of  straw, 
and  many  other  employments  which  have  engaged  the  at- 
tention of  our  females.  Tiie  time  is  not  probably  far 
distant,  when  America*  will  excel  Europe  in  her  silk 
manufactures  as  much  as  she  now  does  in  her  cotton. 

The  great  requisite  in  reeling  i.s  evenness  and  equality 


69 


ill  the  threads.  After  the  cocoons  by  reeling  have  been 
converted  into  rmc  siik,  that  silk,  before  it  can  be  used 
in  the  manufactory  of  fine  stuffs,  must  undergo  the  oper- 
ation of  i/irotcsfiJig,  that  is  to  say  ticisting, which  is  done 
by  means  of  a  machine  called  a  throwing  or  throtcsting 
mill,  and  the  mechanics  who  perform  that  work  are  called 
silk  thruivsters.  There  are  several  of  them  already  in  the 
United  States,  chiefly  from  England,  but  they  have  as  yet 
been  mostly  employed  in  throwsting  foreign  silk,  imported 
chiefly  from  China.  *Tlie  operation  of  throwsting  is  the 
test  of  the  good  or  bad  reelinir  of  raw  silk.  If  it  be  entan- 
gled, or  not  sufficiently  freed  from  its  gum,  the  threads 
break  in  the  preparatory  operation  of  winding,  and 
that  occasions  much  loss.  If  the  threads  are  not 
equal,  that  is  to  say,  if  there  is  not  in  each  thread 
as  nearly  as  possible  the  same  number  of  fibres,  as  the 
twisting  is  done  by  machinery  which  works  by  an  equal 
regular  motion,  the  force  which  will  only  twist  the  strong 
parts  of  the  thread  will  break  the  weak  ones,  and  that 
with  the  loss  by  winding,  produces  what  is  called  waste. 
In  proportion  to  the  greater  or  less  quantity  of  waste  that 
is  found  in  raw  silk  is  the  price  or  value  in  foreign  mar- 
kets. 

Mr  Du  Ponceau  has  communicated  to  me  a  letter 
which  he  has  received  from  an  eminent  silk  merchant 
in  Paris,  in  which  he  tells  him  that  the  best  French  raw 
silks  of  i5  to  20  fibres,  lose  only  by  waste  1  to  2  per 
cent;  those  of  Asiatic  Turkey,  from  G  to  8 ;  those  of 
Calabria,   8  to   12;  those  of  Valencia  in  Spain,  6   to  8; 

*  I  have  had  three  of  them  in  ray  employ. 


m 


70 

those  of  Syria,  15  to  20;  and  those  of  Suloniki  and  the 
Morea,  he  says,  are  still  worse.  That  gentleman  re- 
quires two  years  for  the  American  women  to  learn  to 
reel  silk  in  perfection ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  they 
will  learn  in  a  much  shorter  time.  The  silk  reeled  last 
year  at  Philadelphia,  by  women,  under  the  direction  of 
Mr  D'Homergue,  was  pronounced  in  England  to  be  a 
fair  beginning.  At  the  last  news  received  from  that 
country,  it  had  not  yet  been  thrown,  except  a  small  sam- 
ple at  Manchester,  which  was  said  to  have  undergone 
every  test,  and  produced  a  result  highly  satisfactory. 
In  quality  it  was  said  to  be  superior  to  most  Bengal  silk, 
and  equal  to  the  silks  of  Friuli  and  Trent. 

Mr  Richard  Radnell,  a  late  English  writer,  in  his  view 
of  the  English  silk  trade,  published  at  London  in  182S, 
states  the  average  waste  in  different  silks  to  be  as  follows : 
—  French,  silks  4  to  10  per  cent ;  Lombardy  silks  4  to 
12  per  cent;  Friuli  silk.  4  to  15  per  cent.  So  that  it 
would  seem  that  French  silk  is  belter  reeled  than  Ital- 
ian silk,  which  is  different  from  the  opinion  before  gene- 
rally entertained.  On  silk  from  Persia,  the  waste  is  es- 
timated from  8  to  20  per  cent ;  and  on  Brutia  silk,  from 
4  to  18. 

As  to  Bengal  silk,  that  which  is  reeled  in  the  Com- 
pany's filatures,  which  is  distinguished  by  the  name  of 
Novi  silk,  because  it  is  reeled  under  the  direction  of  an 
Italian,  from  Novi,  in  Piedmont,  is  estimated  to  lose  by 
waste  from  4  to  8  per  cent,  which  would  make  it  supe- 
rior to  French  silk  ;  while  that  reeled  in  the  native  fila- 
tures as  they  are  called,  is  estimated  to  lose  from  5  to 
15  per  cent.     See  Radnell's  View,  p.  34. 


71 


The  reeling  of  silk  from  the  cocoons  requires  skill, 
practice  and  experience.  But  let  not  those  who  under- 
take it  be  easily  discouraged:  perseverance  and  attention 
for  a  short  season  will  enable  them  to  become  expert  at 
the  business,  although  their  first  efforts  may  seem  discour- 
aging. 

The  following  instructions  for  reeling  silk,  I  have  found 
from  practical  experience  of  several  years  in  my  own 
family,  to  be  useful.  They  are  chiefly  extracted  from 
the  manual  published  by   authority  of  Congress. 

The  reeling  may  be  done  at  any  season,  but  best  in 
dry  weather;  it  may  be  carried  on  in  the  dwelling-house 
or  in  a  shed,  or  other  convenient  out-building. 

The  softest  water  should  be  chosen  for  soaking  the  co- 
coons. The  proper  temperature  cannot  be  ascertained 
until  the  reeling  is  commenced,  owing  to  the  different 
composition  of  the  silk.  It  is  as  well  to  raise  it  to  near  the 
boiling  point,  and  then,  if  necessary  to  lower  it,  cold  wa- 
ter may  be  added.  The  soft  or  satiny  cocoons  require 
water  less  heated  than  the  others.  If  too  hot  water  be 
used  they  furze  out  in  unwinding.  The  dupions  or  dou- 
ble cocoons  require  the  hottest  water.  The  fire  under 
the  basin  may  be  lessened  or  increased,  as  the  occasion 
may  require  ;  a  little  attention  will  soon  enable  the  per- 
son who  has  the  management  of  the  basin  to  preserve 
the  water  at  the  proper  degree  of  heat.  The  reeling  is 
effected  by  use  of  a  silk  reel,  (vide  plate)  and  a  basin  of 
water  set  over  a  moderate  fire  in  a  small  furnace.  The 
person  charged  with  the  management  of  the  cocoons  in 
the  basin  must  be  provided  with  a  small  whisk  of  broom 


72 

corn,  or  sharp  twigs,  cut  sharp  at  the  points  ,  and  being 
seated  beliind  the  basin,  previously  tilled  with  hot  soft 
water,  and  placed  upon  a  furnace,  containing  burning 
charcoal,  she  must  throw  into  the  water  a  handful  of  the 
cocoons,  and  press  them  gently  under  the  water  for  two 
or  three  minutes,  in  order  to  soften  the  gum  of  the  silk, 
and  thereby  to  loosen  the  ends  of  the  filaments.  She  is 
then  to  stir  the  cocoons  with  the  end  of  the  whisk  as  light- 
ly as  possible,  until  one  or  more  of  the  fibres  or  filaments 
adhere  to  it;  when,  disengaging  it,  and  laying  aside  the 
whisk,  she  is  to  draw  the  filament  towards  her,  until  it 
come  off  quite  clean  from  the  floss  which  always  sur- 
rounds the  cocoon,  and  the  fine  silk  begins  to  appear ; 
then  breaking  off  the  thread,  and  collecting  the  floss  first 
taken  off,  she  must  put  it  aside  ;  the  whisk  is  then  to  be 
applied  again  to  get  hold  of  the  firm  fibres,  and  again, 
until  a  sufficient  number  are  procured  to  form  the  thread 
of  silk  required  to  be  wound  off.  This  done,  she  is  to 
unite  a  number  of  the  fibres,  according  to  the  fineness  of 
the  intended  thread,  and  deliver  the  compound  thread  to 
the  reeler,  who  puts  it  through  the  guides  ;  another  thread 
is  in  like  manner  to  be  prepared  and  passed  through  the 
other  guides,  when  two  skeins  are  to  be  wound,  and 
they  may  be  crossed  ;  the  tlireads  are  then  raised  for- 
ward and  made  fast  to  one  of  the  arms  of  it.  Both  threads 
being  fastened  to  the  reel,  it  is  to  be  turned  with  a  regular, 
even  motion,  at  first  slowly,  until  the  threads  are  found  to 
run  freely  and  easily;  tor  it  will  happen  that  some  of  the 
ends  which  were  taken  to  compose  the  thread  were 
false,  because  on  taking  off  the  floss  there  may  be  two 
or   three   breaches  made  in  the  beginning  of  the  fibres, 


73 

which,   in   winding,  will   soon  end,   and   must  be  added 
anew  to  make  up  the  number  designed  for  the  thread. 

It  is  proper,  therefore,  in  the  beginning  of  the  thread, 
to  put  a  few  more  cocoons  than  it  is  intended  to  continue, 
as  they  will  soon  be  reduced  to  the  proper  number.  The 
crossing  of  the  threads  is  considered  as  an  improvement, 
though  it  is  sometimes  reeled  without  crossing. 

As  soon  as  the  pods  begin  to  give  the  threads  freely, 
the  reel  is  turned  with  a  quicker  motion.  If  the  pods 
leap  up  often  to  the  guide,  the  reel  must  be  slacken- 
ed, and  the  spinner  may  let  the  thread  pass  between  the 
thumb  and  finger  before  it  reaches  the  guide.  If  the 
thread  comes  off  in  burrs,  it  must  be  turned  quicker. 
The  fire  may  at  any  time  be  increased  or  diminished, 
as  found  necessary,  that  the  reel  may  be  allowed  a  proper 
motion,  which  ought  to  be  as  quick  as  possible  without 
endangering  the  breaking  of  the  thread,  or  hurrying  the 
spinner,  so  that  she  cannot  add  fresh  cocoons,  as  fast  as 
the  old  ones  are  ended.  The  quicker  the  motion  of  the 
wheel  is,  the  better  the  silk  winds  off  and  the  better  the 
end  joins  to  the  thread.  One  might  imagine  that  the 
rapidity  of  the  motion  might  overstrain  and  break  the 
thread  ;  but  from  constant  experience  it  has  been  found 
that  the  thread  never  breaks  from  the  rapidity  of  the 
motion  ;  but  on  the  contrary,  the  quicker  the  motion  is, 
the  more  advantageous  it  is  for  winding  the  silk. 

While  the  reel  is  turning,  the  spinner  must  continually 
add  fresh  fibres  to  each  thread  as  fast  as  she  can  find 
the  ends,  not  waiting  till  some  of  the  number  she  began 
with  are  ended,  because  the  internal  fibres  are  much 
thinner  than  those  constituting  the  external  layers,  but 


74 


must  constantly  prepare  fresh  ends  by  dipping  the  whisk 
among  fresh  cocoons,  of  which  such  a  quantity  must  be 
occasionally  thrown  into  the  basin  as  will  suffice  to  supply 
the  threads  which  are  reeling,  but  not  more. 

The  cocoons  thrown  in  must  be  often  forced  under 
water  that  they  may  be  equally  soaked,  for  as  they  swim 
with  their  greater  part  above  water,  that  part  would  re- 
main hard  and  stubborn,  while  the  part  which  is  un- 
der water  would  be  too  much  soaked;  some  hot  water 
may  be  thrown  upon  them  frequently  with  a  brush,  and 
also  on  the  cocoons  which  are  reeling,  when  they  grow 
dry  at  the  top  and  yield  the  fibres  with  difficulty.  The 
supplying  fresh  ends  when  the  cocoons  are  exhausted,  or 
diminished,  or  the  fibres  break,  is  performed  by  taking 
one  end  of  a  fibre  and  throwing  it  lightly  on  the  one  that 
is  winding,  and  rolling  them  between  the  thumb  and  fin- 
ger, or  gently  pressing  them. 

As  often,  therefore,  as  the  cocoons,  partially  wound, 
are  exhausted,  or  the  fibres  break,  fresh  ones  must  be 
joined  to  keep  up  the  number  requisite,  or  the  porportion  ; 
thus  three  new  ones  may  be  wound  and  two  half  wound, 
or  four  new  ones,  and  the  silk  will  then  be  a  thread 
of  four  to  five  cocoons.  The  adroitness  in  adding  fresh 
ends  can  only  be  acquired  by  practice.  The  difficulty  of 
keeping  the  thread  even  is  so  great,  owing  to  the  increased 
fineness  of  the  fibre  inside,  tliat  we  do  not  say  a  silk 
of  three  or  of  four  or  of  six  cocoons,  but  a  silk  of  three 
to  four,  of  four  to  five,  and  of  six  to  seven. 

In  coarser  silk  we  do  not  calculate  so  nicely  as  one  co- 
coon more  or  less,  we  say  for  example  from  twelve  to 
fifteen,  from   fifteen  to  twenty  cocoons.     In  beginning  a 


75 


thread  of  ten  cocoons,  from  sixteen  to  twenty  will  some- 
times be  required  to  preserve  a  uniform  thread,  after  a 
portion  of  the  first  layer  has  been  wound  off.  The  quan- 
tity of  silk  which  can  be  reeled  in  any  given  time,  is  in 
proportion  to  the  quickness  with  which  the  spinner  can 
add  fresh  cocoons.  Thus,  if  we  suppose  that  every  co- 
coon at  a  riiedium,  will  either  break  or  be  wound  off  at 
the  end  of  every  five  hundred  feet,  then,  if  five  such 
pods  are  reeled  together,  one  will  be  wanted  to  every 
hundred  feet  that  are  reeled  ;  if  ten  are  reeled  together, 
one  will  be  wanted  at  every  fifty  feet ;  if  sixteen  together, 
then  at  thirtyone  feet,  and  so  on.  The  seldomer  cocoons 
end,  or  break,  the  greater  number  of  them  can  one  spin- 
ner attend,  which  shows  the  advantage  of  sound  cocoons 
and  of  expert  management  in  reeling. 

The  cocoons  which  wind  off  in  part  only  and  the 
shells  must  not  be  permitted  to  remain  in  the  water,  as 
they  will  obscure  and  thicken  the  water,  and  injure  the 
color  and  lustre  of  the  silk,  which  can  then  be  used  only 
for  dark  colors.  The  shells  should  be  buried  to  prevent 
their  being  offensive ;  as  a  general  rule,  the  water 
should  be  changed  as  soon  as  it  becomes  discolored. 

When  the  spent  cocoons  leap  up  and  adhere  to  the 
guide  wires,  they  must  be  immediately  taken  away,  else 
by  choking  the  passage  they  will  endanger  the  breaking 
of  the  thread. 

When  the  reel  has  remained  any  time  idle,  the  thread 
between  the  basin  and  the  wires  may  be  wet,  to  cause 
the  thread  to  run  easily. 

In  winding  off  the  best  cocoons  some  defective  ones 
will  be  found  among  them,  which  will  not  wind  off  or 
7 


76 


are  full  of  knobs  ;  these  should  he  taken  out  of  the  basin 
immediately  in  order  to  be  wound  by  themselves. 

The  breaking  of  the  fibres  is  principally  owing  either 
to  bad  cocoons,  viz.  being  ill  formed,  (as  they  will  be 
when  the  worms  were  disturbed  and  interrupted  during 
their  spinning,)  or  the  fibres  may  break  by  improper 
regulation  of  the  heat  in  the  water;  first,  when  it  is  not 
sufficient  to  make  the  silk  come  off  easy,  or  second, 
when  it  is  too  great  and  occasions  burrs,  which  may  stop 
at  the  holes  through  which  the  thread  runs  ;  cocoons  also 
which  have  two  worms  inclosed  will  perpetually  break  ; 
the  whole  thread  may  also  break,  by  burrs  stopping  at 
the  holes  of  the  guides,  or  by  the  reel  being  turned  by 
jerks.  It  may  be  fastened  like  the  fibres,  by  laying  the 
parts  on  one  another,  and  giving  them  a  little  twist. 

A  sharp  fork  may  be  conveniently  made  use  of  to  draw 
away  the  spent  cocoons,  or  such  as  being  nearly  spent, 
stick  at  the  holes  in  the  guides;  and  as  the  whisk  will 
frequently  take  up  more  ends  than  are  immediately  to  be 
added,  and  as  the  spinner  will  sometimes  have  occasion  to 
employ  both  her  hands,  the  brush  may  at  that  time  be  con- 
veniently hung  up  by  the  basin,  while  the  cocoons  which 
are  attached  to  it  remain  in  the  water,  and  the  ends  will 
be  in  readiness  as  they  are  wanted.  If  the  spinner  he 
under  the  necessity  of  leaving  off  work  for  any  length  of 
time,  the  cocoons  should  all  be  raised  with  a  skimming 
dish  out  of  the  water  till  her  return,  otherwise  by  oversoak- 
incr  they  would  wind  off  in  burrs  ;  but  it  is  best  to  continue 
the  reeling  without  interruption,  and  to  let  fresh,  but 
equally  experienced  persons,  succeed  those  who  are  tired. 
The  person  who  turns  the  wheel  should  have  an  eye  to 


77 


the  thread  and  to  the  guide  wires  through  which  they  pass, 
that  he  may  apprise  the  spinner  when  anything  is  wrong  ; 
for  her  eyes  wiH  be  sufficiently  employed  about  the  co- 
coons. The  reeler  may  also  reciify  anything  dis- 
covered to  be  amiss  in  those  parts  of  the  thread  which 
are  near  the  reel,  for  one  hand  will  always  be  employed, 
and  a  stop  must  occasionally    take  place. 

As  the  heat  of  the  water  in  the  basin  will  require  to.be 
varied  according  to  the  ease  or  difficulty  with  which  the 
different  sorts  of  cocoons  give  off  their  silk,  the  spinner 
should  always  have  some  cold  water  within  reach,  in  or- 
der to  cool  that  in  the  basin  quickly,  when  the  silk  comes 
off  too  easily  and  in  burrs.  The  water  is  also  necessary 
for  the  woman  managing  the  cocoons,  to  cool  her  fingers 
More  fuel  should  also  be  at  hand  to  increase  the  heat 
quickly,  when  the  cocoons  do  not  give  off  their  silk  readily. 
If  there  should  happen  to  be  any  sand  in  the  water, 
the  heat  causes  it  to  rise  to  the  surface  and  fix  on  the 
cocoons,  the  thread  of  which  will  break  as  if  cut;  for 
this  reason  the  utmost  care  must  be  taken  to  guard  against 
it,  and  to  remove  it.  Previously  to  being  boiled,  the 
water  should  be  permitted  to  settle,  and  the  pan  must  be 
carefully  wiped.  If  necessary,  the  basin  may  be  covered 
while  the  water  is  heating. 

When  the  cocoons  are  first  put  in  water,  if  the  silk  rises 
thick  upon  the  brush  or  comes  in  lumps,  it  is  a  sign  that 
the  water  is  too  hot ;  if  the  thread  cannot  be  caught,  the 
water  is  too  cold  ;  when  the  cocoons  are  in  play  if  they 
rise  often  to  the  guide  wires,  the  water  is  too  hot ;  ifthe 
cocoons  do  not  follow  the  threads,  it  is  too  cold.  It  will 
be    seen,    by  observing  the  position  of  the  thread  upon 


78 


the  reel,  that  the  different  layers  do  not  lie  parallel  to,  nor 
upon,  but  cross  one  another.  This  is  owing  to  the 
mechanism  of  the  apparatus,  and  if  particularly  con- 
trived to  effect  this  object,  which  is  essential  to  the 
perfection  of  the  process,  and  one  to  which  the  acknowl- 
edged superiority  of  the  Italian  silk  is  to  be  ascribed. 
It  is  effected  by  the  see-saw  motion  of  the  distributing 
rod,  which  depends  upon  the  relative  proportion  be- 
tween the  axle  and  pulley;  without  this  crossing,  the 
threads,  from  their  gummy  nature,  would  inevitably  ad- 
here and  render  the  subsequent  windings  and  twistings 
of  the  silk  very  difficult ;  this  sticking  together  of  the 
silk  is  called  glazing.  But  the  mechanism  abovemen- 
tioned  of  the  distributing  rod,  prevents  the  threads  ly- 
ing over  each  other  upon  the  reel  until  after  it  has  made 
many  revolutions,  and  the  former  threads  have  dried. 
During  this  time  the  exposure  of  the  threads  to  the  air 
causes  the  first  layer  to  completely  dry,  and  hence  no  ad- 
hesion between  them  can  take  place. 

The  effect  of  the  irregularity  of  the  movement  caused 
by  the  distributing  rod  is  also  to  imitate  in  the  unravel- 
ing of  the  cocoon,  the  same  method  employed  by  the 
silk  caterpillar  in  forming  it ;  for  it  is  a  fact,  that  the 
silk  fibres  of  the  cocoon  are  spun  on  it  in  zigzags, 
like  those  formed  by  the  silk  reel,  and  consequently 
the  operation  of  the  reel  is  an  imitation  of  nature,  of 
which  the  industry  of  the  caterpillar  instructed  by  her  is 
the  prototype.  Mr  Nouaille  says,  that  a  woman  at  Novi, 
(Italy,)  experienced  in  the  buisness  with  the  assistance 
of  a  girl  to  turn  the  reel  and  attend  to  the  fire  under 
the  cauldron,  can  with  ease  reel  off  one  pound   of  silk 


79 


consisting  of  four  or  five  cocoons  of  the  most  perfect 
quality  in  a  day.  I  am  credibly  informed  that  the  price  of 
silk  reeled  according  to  the  above  directions,  in  Europe,  is 
from  four  to  seven  dollars,  according  to  its  fineness.  Mr 
D'Homergue  says  a  woman  may  now  reel  three  pounds 
in  a  day.  Mr  Brown  thought  he  could  reel  a  pound  in  a 
day  upon  my  improved  reel,  but  I  have  never  been  able 
to  have  the  finer  qualities  of  silk  reeled  so  rapidly  in  my 
family.  The  silk  reeled  upon  my  reel"  sells  for  5^4,50 
per  pound  as  it  comes  from  the  reel,  and  some  at  a  high- 
er price.  My  reel  is  similar  to  the  Piedmontese,  with 
some  considerable  improvements;  it  is  finished  in  a 
much  neater  style  than  any  I  have  seen  in  this  coun- 
try ;  it  is  portable  and  will  be  furnished  to  any  who  may 
apply,  for  the  sum  of  twentyfive  dollars. 

In  preparing  the  dupions  or  double  cocoons  for  wind- 
ing, more  are  put  into  the  basin  at  once  than  of  the 
finest  kind.  They  must  be  first  well  cleaned  from  the 
floss  outside  ;  the  water  also  must  be  boiling  hot,  and  as 
the  silk  they  yield  is  of  a  coarser  quality  than  the  other, 
and  has  a  good  deal  of  floss  upon  it,  the  person  who 
tur.TS  the  reel  must  take  the  opportunity,  while  the  one 
who  manages  the  basin  is  preparing  the  cocoons  for 
winding,  to  clean  and  pick  ofl"  the  loose  silk  from  that 
which  is  on  the  reel.  These  make  a  coarser  thread  of 
fifteen  to  twenty  cocoons  ;  and  perhaps  as  coarse  as  from 
forty  to  fifty  cocoons  ;  it  is  useful  for  filling  in  coarser 
stuffs  and  likewise  for  sewing  silk. 

*  The    fringe   of    the    curtains    in   the    house    of   Hon.  Daniel 
Webster  of  Boston,  was  made  by  Mr  Brown  from  silk  raised  by  me 
and  reeled  in  my  filature. —  Ed. 
7* 


80 


The  satiny  cocoons  require  water  only  moderately 
heated.  The  proper  heat  will  be  found  by  observing 
the  manner  in  which  the  silk  comes  off  from  the  first  of 
them  which  are  put  in  a  basin,  and  as  already  said  of 
cocoons  generally,  if  it  come  off  thick,  cold  water  must 
be  added  until  the  proper  temperature  be  attained. 

For  these  two  years  past,  I  have  been  principally  en- 
gaged in  manufacturing,  and  the  different  processes  of  Silk 
Manufacture  now  carried  on  by  me,  at  Dedham,  ]Ms.,  I 
will  briefly  describe. 

Process  1.  —  reeling  from  the  cocoon. 
This  process  is  performed  by  girls  on  my  improved 
reel*  which  works  better  than  the  Piedmontese  reel  or  any 
reel  known  to  be  in  use,  and  is  the  same  reel  for  which 
I  received  the  premium  of  the  Mass.  Agricultural  So- 
ciety. The  raw  silk  as  it  comes  from  this  reel  is  a  mar- 
ketable article  in  any  part  of  Europe^  and  is  preferal)le  to 
the  silks  which  come  from  Bengal;  upwards  of  a  million 
of  pounds  of  which   are  used  in  Great  Britain  annually. 

Process  2.  —  wiiNding  from  the  skein  that  comes 
from  the  reel  to  the  bobbin. 

This  process  is  performed  on  the  winding  frame  by 
girls  and  children  ;  the  silk  runs  from  swifts  over  glass 
rods,  and  is  guided  by  a  traverse  motion  to  its  right  po- 
sition on  the  bobbin. 

Process    3.  —  clearing    the    silk    from     knobs 

AND  husks. 
This  is  done  on  the  clearing   frame  by  passing  the  silk 
*  Vide  plate  three. 


81 


from  the  bobbin  over  a  glass  rod  through  two  plates  of 
iron  nicely  graduated  to  another  bobbin  ;  the  machine  is 
tended  by  a  little  girl. 

Process  4. — spinning  the  silk  single. 

This  is  done  by  a  man  on  the  spinning  frame.  The 
spindles  in  this  frame  turn  J800  times  in  a  minute,  and 
the  wheels  are  so  graduated  that  any  number  of  twists  to 
the  inch  may  be  given. 

Process  5.  —  tramming  or  doubling  the  silk. 

This  is  done  by  a  girl  at  an  engine  constructed  after 
a  model,  for  which  a  pattern  was  brought  from  a  patented 
machine  in  England,  which  patent  is  still  in  force  in 
England  ;  but  as  their  patent  laws  do  not  reach  here  it 
has  been  put  into  use  and  operates  well  ;  by  this  ma- 
chine the  silk  is  doubled  any  number  of  times  required, 
so  as  to  make  a  thread  of  the  size  required  whether  it  be 
coarse  or  fine. 

Process  6.  —  throwstixg  or  twisting  the  silk. 

This  is  done  by  a  man  on  the  throwsting  frame,  which 
is  constructed  on  the  model  of  one  imported  from  En- 
gland, and  is  so  contrived  by  means  of  various  small  cog 
wheels,  that  the  silk  may  be  twisted  any  given  number 
of  twists  to  the  inch.  The  five  machines,  or  engines  last 
named,  are  driven  by  water  power,  and  by  the  assistance 
of  one  man,  one,  boy  and  four  girls,  I  have  caused  over 
three  hundred  weight  of  silk  to  be  manufactured  the  past 
season. 


82 


Process  7.  —  steaming  the  su.k. 

This  is  done  by  submitting  the  silk  when  stretched 
upon  the  reels,  as  it  comes  from  the  throvvsting  frame, 
to  the  action  of  steam  in  a  large  receiver  calculated  for 
the  purpose.  The  steam  is  raised  in  a  tin  vessel  over  a 
cylindrical  stove  and  passes  into  the  receiver  by  a  lead- 
en  pipe.  — The  object  of  this  process  is  to  set  the  twist. 

Process  8.  —  ungumming  or  cleansing  the  silk. 

This  is  done  by  boiling  the  &ilk  in  soap  and  water  in  a 
large  vat  for  the  purpose  of  clearing  it  from  the  natural 
gum,  which  is  in  all  silk  in  its  natural  state.  By  this 
process  the  silk   looses  in  weight  about  one  quarter. 

Process  9.  —  dyeing  the  silk. 

This  is  done  by  subjecting  the  silk  to  liquid  dyes,  and 
the  different  colors  are  produced  with  about  the  same 
ease  that  that  they  are  in  woolen  and  cotton  dyeing. 

Process  10  —  soft  silk  winding. 
This   is  done  on  an  engine  by  girls  in  a  manner    very 
similar  to  that  described  in  the  second  process,  the  object 
of  it  being   merely  to  get  the  silk  from   the  skeins  to  the 
bobbins.     The  silk  is  then  fit  for  the  weaver's  use. 

Thus  the  silk  is  carried  tiirough  ten  different  and  dis- 
tinct processes  from  the  cocoon  to  the  weaver's  use,  each 
of  which  processes  require  skill  and  care. 

The  silk  is  then  taken  by  the  weaver  and  warped  and 
wove  into  any  kind  of  stuffs  lequired  —  handkerchiefs, 
vestings,  satins,  suspender-webbing  and  furniture  bind- 
ing  have   been  made  chiefly,  as  also  stockings  ;   but  the 


83 


weaving  of  broad  goods  is  attended  with  great  labor,  and 
as  there  is  no  protection  by  government  on  them  of  any 
consequence,  T  shall  not  be  likely  to  make  them  in  future 
to  any  extent. 

I  have  six  narrow  looms  and  four  broad  looms  in  ope- 
ration ;  and  could  I  meet  with  suitable  encouragement  I 
should  continue  to  operate  them,  but  as  I  intend  only  to 
make  such  goods  as  will  sell  to  a  profit ;  I  shall  not  be 
likely  to  extend  the  making  of  broad  goods,  unless  I  can 
do  it  by  power  looms, —  but  shall  confine  my  attention  to 
the  making  of  sewing  silk  and  such  narrow  goods  as  I  can 
sell  to  a  profit.  I  have  not  gone  into  a  very  minute  de- 
scription of  machinery  here,  as  this  book  is  intended  for 
the  use  of  the  Agriculturist. 

Something  should  be  done  by  the  nation  to  foster  and 
encourage  this  business.  Specimens  of  silk  stuffs  and 
sewing  silk  have  been  produced  in  many  parts  of  the 
Union,  but  there  is  want  of  uniformity  and  system  in  the 
business,  and  it  is  evident  that  no  great  progress  can  be 
made  by  individual  enterprise  in  manufacturing  where  a 
great  many  experiments  are  to  be  tried  and  considerable 
capital  required.  A  pattern  fil-ature  and  manufactory 
should  be  established  by  the  government  and  all  citizens 
disposed  should  have  access  to  it,  and  then  our  people  will 
generally  enter  into  the  business,  and  the  ten  millions  a 
year  now  sent  out  of  the  country  will  be  retained  at 
home.  Individuals  who  are  desirous  of  being  instructed 
in  any  or  all  the  various  stages  of  the  silk  business  now 
carried  on  by  me,  may  obtain  that  instruction  on  reason- 
able terms  by  coming  and  residing  with  me  or  in  my 
vicinity. 


84 


METHOD  OP    REELING  COCOONS  AND    MANUFACTURING   SILK 
IN    CONNECTICUT. 

In  the  first  place  the  cocoons  are  stripped  of  their 
floss  and  sorted  according  to  their  quality.  Then  a  larwe 
kettle  set  in  a  furnace  or  in  an  arch  is  filled  with  water 
and  fire  is  kept  under  it ;  and  when  it  is  about  to  boil  a 
quart  of  cocoons  is  thrown  into  it.  They  are  immedi- 
ately stirred  perpendicularly  in  the  water  by  a  bunch  of 
broom  corn  tied  close  together  as  large  as  a  person's 
arm,  and  cut  square  at  the  end,  or  by  a  corn  broom,  or 
something  similar.  In  this  way  the  ends  are  collected, 
and  attached  to  the  bushy  extremity.  They  are  then 
drawn  up  by  shaking  the  broom  or  whatever  they  are 
collected  with,  up  and  down  in  order  to  keep  the  co- 
coons in  the  water,  otherwise  they  would  rise.  If 
enough  for  a  thread  is  not  collected  the  first  time,  those 
ends  that  are  drawn  up  are  taken  oflT  the  bush  with  the 
hand  and  drawn  to  one  side  of  the  kettle.  The  process 
is  then  repeated  until  a  sufficient  number  is  collected  to 
form  a  thread  of  the  size  required,  which  is  usually  from 
eighty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  cocoons. 

Reeling  is  then  commenced  on  a  common  hand  reel, 
(such  as  is  in  common  use  in  families  in  New  England  for 
reeling  yarn  from  the  spinning  wheel,)  and  the  silk  fibres 
run  off  about  as  fast  and  with  as  little  difficulty  as  yarn 
from  a  spindle.  Some  of  the  cocoons  run  off  before 
others  ;  and  when  on  this  account  the  thread  becomes 
too  small,  all  the  fibres  are  broken  off,  and  what 
is  reeled  is  tied  by  itself  on  the  reel  and  another  quart 
of  cocoons  is  thrown  into  the  kettle  ;  the  ends  are  collect- 
edand  reeled  in  the  same  way  as  before,  and  each  sepa- 


85 


rate  piece  ist  ied  by  itself.   When  the  reel  is  full  the  pieces 
ara  all  tied  together,  taken  off  and  immediately  dried. 

Most  of  this  silk  is  manufactured  into  sewing  silk  and 
twist  in  the  following  manner  :  —  it  is  immersed  for  a 
kw  moments  in  boiling  water,  taken  out,  put  on  swifts 
and  spun  or  twisted  on  a  common  woolen  wheel,  begin- 
ning, at  the  large  end  of  the  piece,  that  is  at  the  end 
which  was  reeled  first:  and  when  it  becomes  too  small, 
which  is  the  case  when  one  half  or  two  thirds  is  run  off, 
the  small  end  of  another  piece  is  added  to  it,  and  thus 
they  are  twisted  together.  It  is  then  spooled  directly  off 
the  spindle  ;  a  sufficient  number  of  spools  is  put  into  a 
small  spool  frame  to  make  a  thread  of  a  proper  size, 
which  is  twisted  again  while  it  is  moist.  It  is  then 
reeled  again  and  cleansed  by  boiling  in  strong  suds  for 
three  hours,  then  dried  and  colored.  Undergoing  this 
process  it  shrinks  about  one  half  in  weight ;  after  this, 
for  sewing  silk,  it  is  doubled,  twisted  and  reeled  on  a 
reel  two  yards  long,  and  is  divided  into  skeins  of  twenty 
threads  each,  as  the  statute  of  that  State  requires.  If  it 
be  calculated  for  twist,  it  is  made  three  threaded,  twisted 
and  done  up  into  sticks  with  a  small  hand  machine,  and 
is  then  ready  for  the  market.  The  fioss,  or  tow,  as  it  is 
called,  is  boiled  in  strong  suds  for  three  hours,  dried 
picked,  carded,  and  spun  on  a  common  wool  wheel. 
The  yarn  is  woven  into  cloth,  which  is  worn  by  the 
women  for  every -day  gowns.  It  is  sometimes  manufac- 
tured into  very  strong  and  durable  carpets. 

Those  cocoons  that  the  grubs  have  pierced  are  boiled 
as  above  and  dried.  The  end  that  is  not  pierced  is  cut 
off ;  they  then  are  spun  on  a  linen  wheel  like  worsted. 


86 


beginning  at  the  end  cut.  It  is  then  twisted  together, 
three  threaded  and  knit  into  stockings. 

The  imperfect  cocoons,  and  all  that  will  not  reel,  are 
boiled,  carded,  spun  and  manufactured  in  all  respects 
like  floss,  but  they  make  nicer  and  finer  cloth. 

The  Connecticut  sewing  silk,  at  present,  does  not  bring 
a  higher  price  than  the  reeled  silk  as  it  comes  from  my 
reel.  As  it  is  said  that  there  is  a  loss  of  one  half  of  the 
weight  in  the  preparation  of  sewing  silk,  it  is  evident  that 
to  reel  it  properly  and  sell  it  for  raw  silk  would  bring  a 
hundred  per  cent  more  profit. 


gideon  b.  smith  s  impuoved  silk  reel 
(see  plate.) 
This  is  an  improvement  on  the  Slik  Reel  of  Piedmont. 
The  improvement  consists  in  the  simplicity  of  the  ma- 
chinery, compared  with  that  of  the  Piedmontese  Reel,  the 
operation  of  both  being  exactly  the  same.  A,  is  a  cylin- 
der eight  inches  diameter  and  eight  in  length.  B,  a  circu- 
lar groove,  half  an  inch  deep,  which  has  a  sweep  of  six 
inches.  To  lay  out  this  groove,  a  strip  of  paper  six  inches 
wide  and  of  the  exact  length  of  the  cylinder's  circum- 
ference, is  doubled,  and  with  the  compass  a  sweep  is 
made  from  the  middle  of  one  end  of  the  doubled  paper  to 
the  edge  and  thence  to  the  middle  of  the  other  end  ;  the 
paper  is  then  turned  over  and  the  same  sweep  made  on 
the  other  side,  in  an  opposite  direction.  The  paper  i^ 
then  laid  on  the  cylinder,  and  the  groove  marked  upon  it 
for  cutting.  Thus  on  each  side  of  the  cylinder  the  groove 
will  form  a  semi-circle  meeting  in  the  middle,   and   will 


'> 


XLATM  JIL 


thus  cause  a  peculiar  motion  to  the  traversing  bar,  (C,) 
which  it  will  cause  to  move  slowly  at  the  extremities  of 
its  course  and  rapidly  in  the  centre,  thus  giving  time  for 
the  threads  to  take  hold  of  the  rails  of  the  reel  on  the 
outside  of  the  skeni  before  it  begins  to  more  back.  C, 
the  traversing  bar,  with  the  brass  hooks  through  which 
the  silk  passes.  D,  a  bar  of  the  frame  on  which  a  brass 
plate  is  fixed,  with  small  holes,  for  the  silk  to  pass  through, 
and  which  stands  immediately  over  the  vessel  containing 
the  cpcoons.  E,  the  drum,  eighteen  inches  diameter. 
F,  the  pulley,  ten  inches  diameter.  The  size  of  the  drum 
and  pulley  precludes  the  possibility  of  the  band  slipping. 

The  whole  frame  is  five  feet  long,  four  high,  and  two 
wide  in  the  clear,  and  the  timber  about  two  inches  square. 
It  is  put  together  with  kevs,  for  the  convenience  of  tak- 
ing down  and  putting  up. 

The  necessity  of  the  machinery  for  producing  the  vi- 
bratory motion  of  the  traversing  bar,  will  be  understood 
when  it  is  stated,  that,  if  the  threads  are  laid  on  the  rails 
as  cotton  is  reeled  they  would  adhere  and  become  use- 
less, as  they  could  not  be  separated.  The  traversing 
bar  causes  them  to  be  laid  on  in  such  a  manner  as  to  ob- 
viate this  entirely.  By  a  small  handle  near  the  rim  of 
the  drum,  the  reel  is  turned.  With  this  reel  the  relative 
proportionate  diameter  of  the  drum  and  pulley  is  neces- 
sary, to  produce  the  proportionate  movement  of  the 
traversing  bar,  and  the  revolution  of  the  reel,  as  the  bar 
must  move  back  and  forth  five  times,  while  the  reel 
makes  nine  revolutions,  and  as  the  groove  is  formed, 
one  revolution  of  the  cylinder  causes  the  bar  to  move 
out  and  back  once.  This  reel  I  have  not  seen,  but  give 
the  description  of  it  as  published. 
8 


APPENDIX 


Short  Historical  Account  of  the  E forts  of  Silk  Culture 
in  this  country. 

In  America  the  culture  of  the  silk  worm  was  introduc- 
ed into  Virginia  in  1G23  by  James  I.  who  himself  com- 
posed a  book  of  instructions  on  the  subject,  and  caused 
mulberry  trees  and  silk  worms'  eggs  to  be  sent  to  the 
colony.  He  made  great  efforts  to  have  it  take  place  of  the 
tobacco  in  agricultural  pursuits.  Thirty  years  afterwards 
it  was  enacted  that  every  planter  who  should  not  have 
raised  at  least  ten  mulberry  trees  for  every  hundred 
acres  of  land  in  his  possession,  should  be  fined  ten  pounds 
of  tobacco.  Five  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco  were 
promised  to  any  one  who  should  produce  one  thousand 
pounds  of  wound  silk  in  one  year.  In  1GG4,  Mr  Walk- 
er, a  member  of  the  legislature,  stated  that  he  had  sev- 
enty thousand  mulbi^rry  trees  on  his  estate.  In  166(5, 
all  statutory  provisions  were  repealed,  because  the  busi- 
ness was  in  so  thriving  a  condition  as  no  longer  to  re- 
quire protection.  The  decline  of  silk  business  in  that 
state  was  probably  owing  to  want  of  perseverance.  The 
new  emigrants  brought  with  them  new  views  and  habits; 
and  as  they  brought  their  slaves,  it  became  necessary 
that  an  immediate  annual  profit  should  be  realized. 
Hence  the  culture  of  rice  and  indigo  was  introduced, 
and  on  account  of  the  immediate  profit  derived  from 
their  culture,  that  of  silk  languished,  which  would  have 
required  a    steady  perseverance    for  a    course  of  years. 

The  culture  of  silk  was  introduced  into  Georgia  at 
the  earliest  period  of  its  settlement.  The  trustees  of  the 
colony  transmitted  mulberry  trees  as  well  as  seeds  and 
silk  worms'  eggs.     The  public  seal  of  the  colony  repre- 


89 


sentcd  silk  worms  in  their  various  stages.  In  the  year 
1736  a  quantity  of  raw  silk  was  raised  in  that  colony, 
and  was  manufactured  at  Derby,  by  Sir  Thomas  Combe, 
into  a  piece  of  stuff  and  presented  to  the  queen.  A 
few  years  before  our  Revolution  considerable  quanti- 
ties of  raw  silk  began  to  be  exported  to  England,  which 
was  found  equal  to  the  best  silk  of  Piedmont,  and  to  be 
worked  with  less  waste  than  the  China  silk.  In  1776 
more  than  twenty  thousand  pounds  of  raw  silk  were 
imported  into  England  from  Georgia. 

No  result  of  any  consequence  seems  to  have  follow- 
ed the  exertions  of  Dr  Franklin  to  establish  a  filature 
at  Philadelphia  in  1769.  The  Revolution  came  on 
and  put  an  end  to  the  undertaking.  There  is  little 
doubt  that  if  the  United  States  had  continued  to  remain 
British  colonies,  the  culture  of  silk  would  have  made 
an  immense  progress  in  this  country,  because  its  promotion 
was  a  matter  of  vital  interest  to  the  mother  country,  whose 
manufacturers  would  have  been  furnished  from  hence  with 
the  raw  material,  which  ihcy  are  obliged  to  purchase  at 
a  great  expense,  drawing  very  little  from  their  domin- 
ions in  Bengal,  where  it  seems  it  is  imperfectly  prepared. 

In  Connecticut  this  culture  has  been  attended  to  for  sev- 
enty years,  and  it  is  probable  that  about-  four  tons  are  now 
raised  annually  in  the  county  of  Windham.  I  was  told  by 
an  intelligent  citizen  of  that  county  during  my  visit  there 
in  1828,  that  the  culture  was  found  profitable  and  was  the 
best  business  they  could  pursue.  I  found  many  families,  in 
some  towns  nearly  all,  engaged  in  raising  silk.  A  family 
makes  ten,  twenty,  fifty,  or  a  hundred  pounds  in  a  season, 
according  to  their  supply  of  leaves.  It  is  evident  that 
they  will  derive  much  advantage  from  introducing  Eu- 
ropean skill  into  their  manufacture  of  the  article.  I  am  told 
that  during  the  present  season  they  have  erected  a  factory 
and  employ  several  European  artists.  There  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  a  rapid  increase  of  production 
will  soon  take  place  in  many  of  the  states  of  the  Union. 
In  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  and  Maine,  silk  has  been 


90 


cultivated  in  small  quantities  with  success.  Individuals  in 
Massachusetts  have  cultivated  it  with  success  for  thirty 
years,  and  there  is  not,  probahly  a  farm  in  the  state  on 
which  it  may  not  be  raised.  The  beautiful  specimens  of 
the  article  produced  at  the  agricultural  exhibitions  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  Union  show  the  degree  of  interest  exci- 
ted at  the  present  time  on  the  subject,  and  indicate  that  at 
no  distant  day  great  national  wealth  will  be  derived  from 
the  exertions  that  are  now  undertaken  in  this  depart- 
ment. 

EXPLANATION    OF    THE    SILK    REEL    OF    PIEDMONT.* 

The  frame  is  6  feet  5  inches  long,  4^  by  three  inches 
thick.  Distance  of  the  upright  posts,  AB,  4  feet  4^- 
inches. 

CC."  Length  of  the  braces  of  the  frame,  20  inches  in 
the  clear. 

DD.  Legs  of  the  frame,  2  feet  3  J  inches  long.  E,  shaft 
with  a  crown  wheel  at  each  end.  The  wheel  F,  9j^^  in- 
ches in  circumference,  has  22  teeth.  The  wheel  G,  10 
inches  and  2Jj  in  circumference,  has  25  teeth.  This 
shaft  has  an  iron  pin  at  each  end  1  inch  long.  The  pin 
at  the  end  G,  plays  in  a  hole  in  the  shoulder  near  the  top 
of  the  post  O,  so  as  to  enable  the  teeth  of  the  wheel  to 
catch  and  work  in  those  of  tlie  pinion  at  the  end  of  the 
axle  of  the  reel,  which  axle,  by  means  of  a  pin  at  the  end, 
also  plays  in  a  hole  in  the  post  O.  The  pin  at  the  other 
end  of  the  shaft  plays  in  a  hole  in  the  post  K,  and  the 
teeth  of  the  wheel  F,  work  in  the  pinion  H,  fixed  on  the 
top  of  the  post  K,  by  means  of  a  burr  screwed  on  the  pin 
projecting  from  the  post  and  passing  through  the  centre 
of  the  pinion.  This  pinion  has  35  feet.  On  the  top  of 
the  pinion  H,  is  a  crank,  having  a  sweep  of  4  inches, 
and  receives  on  its  top  the  end  of  the  iron  wire-carrier  of 
the  traversing  bar  L  The  crank  is  fixed  half  an  inch 
from   the   commencement  of  the  grooves   of  (he   pinion. 

*  See  Piate. 


91 

This  crank  is  shown  in  the  figure  H.  I,  a  traversing  bar, 
2  feet  10  inches  long,  |  of  an  inch  wide,  f  of  an  inch 
thick,  playing  through  the  posts  BK  :  height  of  the  post 
from  the  frame  17  inches. 

L,  an  iron  carrier  of  wire.  No.  1,  18  inches  long,  fixed 
to  the  bar  1,  to  work  free  by  a  screw.  The  other  end  is 
fixed  by  a  burr  to  the  pin  passing  through  the  centre  of 
the  pinion  H. 

MM.  Two  wire  hooks  or  eyes,  (rampins)  7f  inches 
apart,  at  equal  distances  from  the  ends  of  the  traversing 
bar  through  which  they  pass.  The  wires  to  the  com- 
mencement of  the  turns  of  the  hooks  are  5  inches  in  length. 

N.  The  reel ;  arms,  2  feet  2jV  inches  long  in  the 
clear  :  1^  inches  wide,  and  j%  of  an  inch  thick  ;  rails, 
20f  inches  long,  2  inches  broad,  ^s^  of  an  inch  thick  ; 
two  of  the  arms  are  jointed,  to  allow  the  skeins  of  silk  to 
be  taken  off  when  reeled  and  quite  dry.  There  ought  to 
be  an  extra  reel  to  put  in  the  place  of  the  one  taken  off 
to  prevent  the  work  stopping. 

O.  Upright  support  for  the  axle  of  the  reel,  on  the  ends 
of  which  the  pinion  is  fixed,  to  work  with  the  wheel  G, 
at  the  end  of  the  shaft  E.  The  pinion  of  the  axle  has 
22  teeth.  P,  an  iron  plate  with  four  holes,  12  inches 
long,  slightly  hollowed,  projecting  3^^  inches  from  the  bar  : 
the  outside  holes  are  3  inches  from  the  ends ;  from  the 
centre  of  one  hole  to  that  of  the  next,  f  of  an  inch. 
Distance  from  the  two  inside  and  nearest  holes,  4^^^ 
inches. 

Q,.  The  copper  basin  to  contain  hot  water,  in  which 
the  cocoons  are  immersed  when  reeling  off.  It  is  IS 
inches  long,  1  foot  broad,  and  4J  inches  deep. 

R.  The  furnace  to  contain  charcoal,  to  keep  the  water 
hot. 

Distance  from  the  centre   of  the   posts  AB   and  OK, 
361  inches.     Circumference  of  the  reel  6  feet  11  inches. 
Distance  from  the  top  of  one  arm,  where  it  enters  the 
rail,  to  another  arm,  IBg^  inches. 

From  the  axle  of  the   reel  and  the  traversing  bar  I,  4 
feet  8  inches. 
8* 


92 


LETTER 


From  Peter  S.  Du  Ponceau  to  the  Hon.  Andrew  Stk- 
VENSOiv,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
OF  THE  United  States. 

Wasliiiigton  8th  May,  1S32. 

Sir  :  The  present  session  of  Congress  being  far  advan- 
ced, and  business  pressing  on  your  lionorable  House  from 
every  side,  1  think  it  my  duly  to  solicit  again  their  atten- 
tion to  the  bill  '  for  promoting  the  growth  and  manufac- 
ture of  silk,'  now  pending  before  them,  and  to  state  some 
reasons  why  it  is  important  to  the  nation  that  it  should 
be  acted  upon  as  soon  as  possible,  and,  above  all  things, 
that  it  should  not  be  suffered  to  go  over  the  present  session. 
As  there  are  many  members  of  the  present  House  who 
are  unacquainted  with  the  history  of  this  bill,  and  who 
may  not  understand  on  what  grounds  I  take  the  liberty 
to  address  them  through  you,  I  beg  leave  to  give  here  a 
brief  statement  of  it,  which,  while  it  serves  as  my  apology, 
will,  I  believe,  throw  some  additional  light  on  the  impor- 
tant subject  to  which  your  attention  is  most  respectfully 
requested. 

When,  at  the  beginning  of  the  first  session  of  the  last 
Congress,  I  had  the  honor  to  present  to  them  a  copy  of  the 
'Essays  on  American  Silk,'  then  lately  published  by  Mr 
D'Homergue  and  myself,  I  had  nothing  in  view  but  to  give 
them  a  mark  of  my  profound  respect,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
tlirough  them,  to  extend  the  knowledge  of  -the  facts 
which  the  book  contains.  I  was  highly  flattered  by  the 
honor  which  the  House  did  to  that  little  work,  by  refer- 
ing  it  to  their  committee  on  agriculture  ;  still,  1  had  no 
idea  that  that  would  lead  to  the  recommendation  of  a 
legislative  measure. 

The  idea  of  deriving  a  national  advantage  from  the  ex- 
portation of  raw  silk  was  entirely  new,  at  that  time,  in 
tlie  United  States.  Until  then,  the  culture  of  that  rich 
production  of  our  soil  had  been  considered  only  with  a 
view  to  domestic  manufactures.     This  is  so  true,  that,  in 


93 


the  able  report  of  the  Committee  on  Agriculture,  made  to 
the  House  on  the  2d  of  May,  1S26  ;  in  the  Manual  that 
was  prepared  and  published  on  their  recommendation  ; 
and  in  the  answers,  that  were  sent  from  all  parts  of  the 
United  States  to  the  then  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr 
Rush,  in  consequence  of  his  circular  queries,  (as  far  as 
those  answers  have  come  to  my  knowledge,)  the  impor- 
tance of  the  exportation  of  rmv  silk  as  an  article  of  com- 
merce, is  not  any  where  suggested.  Thus,  our  agricul- 
ture as  far  as  silk  is  concerned,  was  considered  only  as 
mvxiliary  to  domestic  manufactures  ;  while  the  idea  first 
thrown  out  and  developed  in  the  '  Essays,'  contemplates 
solely  the  advantage  of  the  agricultural  interest  of  our 
country,  which  alone  is  to  be  benefited  by  the  sale  of  our 
produce  to  foreign  nations  in  the  form  of  a  rmo  material, 
manufactures  may  follow  or  not,  as  it  may  happen.  In 
either  case,  our  country  is  to  be  benefited  by  the  sale  of 
an  article  exclusively  the  fruit  of  agricultural  industry. 
When  we  consider  that  the  small  country  of  Piedmont 
exported,  in  the  year  1829,  near  fiv«  millions  of  pounds 
of  lier  raw  and  thrown  silks,  we  shall  better  understand 
the  value  of  this  suggestion.  France  does  not  permit 
the  exportation  of  her  silks,  unless  manufactured. 

These  reflections  could  not  but  forcibly  strike  the 
minds  of  the  enlightened  committee  to  whom  the  work 
was  referred.  That  committee  did  me  the  honor  to  ad- 
dress me  through  their  chairman,  and  desired  my  inter- 
ference to  retain  Mr  D'Homergue  in  this  country.  I 
was  requested  by  them  to  ask  him  on  what  terms  he 
would  accept  to  be  placed  at  the  head  of  a  national  school 
of  filature;  in  consequence  of  which,  after  having  ascer- 
tained the  lowest  terms  that  could  reasonably  be  offered 
to  him,  and  obtained  his  assent,  not  without  difficulty,  as 
his  pretensions  were  higher,  and  these  I  found  justified 
afterwards  by  a  letter  from  his  father,  in  which,  appealing 
to  his  experience  of  forty  years,  he  told  him  that  forty  thou- 
sand dollars  would  hardly  be  sufficient  to  enable  him  to 
execute  what  he  had  undertaken  ;  I  submitted  a  plan, 
which  the  committee  immediately  adopted,  and  presented 


94 


to  the  House  in  the  form  of  the  present  bill,  to  which 
they  subjoined  my  letter  to  them,  and  an  able  report  warm- 
ly recommending  the  measure,  in  which  is  ibund  this 
remarkable  expression,  that  it  would  be  a  national  mis- 
fortune if  Mr  D'ilomergue  were  suffered  to  leave  this 
country. 

That  report  was  made  on  the  Vlih  of  March,  1830. 
The  session  was  then  far  advanced,  and  the  House  could 
do  no  more  before  their  adjournment  than  order  six  thou- 
sand copies  of  the  report,  with  my  letter  to  the  commit- 
tee, and  the  '  Essays  on  American  Silk,  '  to  be  print- 
ed. The  Senate,  to  whom  a  copy  of  that  work  had  been 
also  presented,  referred  it  to  their  Committee  on  Agricul- 
ture, and  manufactures,  with  whom  I  had  some  corres- 
pondence, which,  however,  produced  no  result,  as  the 
subject  had  been  so  fully  taken  up  by  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives. 

Under  these  circumstances,  sir,  I  thought  myself  in  hon- 
or, if  not  in  duty,  bound  to  justify  the  confidence  placed  in 
me  by  retaining  Mr  D'Homergue  in  this  country,  at  least 
until  another  session  of  Congress.  At  the  same  time,  I 
determined  to  prove  to  Congress,  and  to  the  nation,  by  the 
evidence  of  facts,  the  great  importance  of  the  cont(;mpla- 
ted  measure,  so  that  it  might  be  popular  by  the  time  it 
should  come  again  before  the  iVational  Legislature.  I 
went  with  Mr  D'Homergue  to  Connecticut,  to  see  how 
the  people  there  managed  the  silk  culture,  and  their  so 
much  spoken  of  domestic  manufacture  of  sewing  silk. 
My  object  in  going  thither  was  iilso  to  purchase  cocoons, 
of  which,  however,  I  could  obtaiu  but  a  small  quantity, 
as  the  people  thought  that  they  might  employ  them  other- 
wise to  more  advantage.  We,  therefore,  supplied  our- 
selves, in  that  and  the  succeeding  year,  from  other  sour- 
ces. On  my  return  to  Philadelphia,  1  erected  an  experi- 
mental filature  under  the  diiection  of  Mr  D'Homergue, 
in  which  American  wouien  were  instructed  in  the  art  of 
preparing  raw  silk  for  exportation.  As  there  was  not 
time  before  the  then  next  session  of  Cono;ress  to  obtain 


95 

information  from  Europe  of  the  results  of  these  experi- 
ments, I  prevailed  on  Mr  D'Homergue,  although  with- 
out much  of  the  requisite  machinery,  to  manufacture, 
himself,  in  various  forms,  a  part  of  the  silk  prepared  at 
the  filature.  It  was  not  until  the  end  of  the  last  session 
of  Congress  that  we  obtained  proofs  from  abroad,  that 
our  raw  silk  was  esteemed  in  foreign  countries,  and  might 
becom*  a  valuable  article  in  our  commerce  with  other 
nations.  The  details  of  these  experiments,  and  their  re- 
sults at  home  and  abroad,  have  been  made  known  to  the 
House  in  former  communications. 

The  last  session  was  short,  and  a  great  part  of  it  was  ta- 
ken up  by  a  State  trial  in  the  Senate,  at  which  the  members 
of  the  House  attended.  The  House,  however,  showed  its 
favorable  disposition  towards  the  bill,  by  fixing  a  day  for 
its  discussion  ;  but,  more  pressing  business  intervening, 
that  discussion  did  not  take  place,  and  Congress  adjourn- 
ed, of  necessity,  on  the  day  appointed  by  the  constitution. 

At  that  time,  sir,  Mr  D'Homergue  had  received  tempt- 
ing offers  from  a  foreign  minister,  then  at  Washington, 
and  was  hesitating  whether  or  not  he  would  accept  them. 
The  fact  was  known  to  many  members  of  the  late  Con- 
gress, who  considered  it  of  the  highest  importance  that 
Mr  D'Homergue  should  stay  in  this  country,  at  least,  to 
wait  the  result  of  the  present  session.  To  obtain  that  end, 
a  paper  was  signed  on  the  very  day  of  the  adjournment 
of  the  late  Congress,  by  eighty-nine  members  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  in  which,  without  presuming  to  pre- 
dict what  might  be  done  by  a  future  Congress,  they  did 
not  hesitate  to  give  it  as  their  decided  opinion,  that,  if  the 
bill  had  been  considered  at  that  session,"  it  would  have 
met  with  the  approbation  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives." That  paper  was  brought  to  Philadelphia,  and  de- 
livered to  me  by  the  Hon.  Ambrose  Spencer. 

Under  such  circumstances,  what  could  I  do  ?  However 
inconvenient  it  might  be  to  me  to  continue  the  efforts  I 
had  begun,  that  was  not  now  an  object  for  my  considera- 
tion.    A  market  had  been  established  at  Philadelphia  for 


96 


cocoons,  and  they  were  bringing  in  for  sale  from  various 
parts  of  tlie  country.  To  have  discontinued  that  market 
at  once,  would  have  discouraged  the  farmers,  and  check- 
ed the  impulse  which  Congress  had  been  giving  to  the  silk 
culture  since  the  year  1826;  and,  what  would  have  been 
worse,  Mr  D'Homergue  might  have  accepted  some  of  the 
offers  made  him,  and  left  this  country.  I  therefore  de- 
termined to  persevere  ;  the  cocoons  were  purchased,  the 
women  hired,  and  the  filature  again  set  to  work,  not  as  a 
business  or  with  a  view  to  any  profit,  but  as  a  continua- 
tion of  former  experiments.  Mr  D'Homergue  was  per- 
suaded to  remain  in  the  United  States,  and  to  reject  the 
offers  made  to  him  by  the  foreign  minister  to  whom  I  have 
alluded,  and  by  another,  then  in  Philadelphia,  who  made 
overtures  to  him  in  my  presence. 

The  period  having  arrivedfor  the  opening  of  the  present 
session  of  Congress,  I  had  the  honor  of  addressing  a  let- 
ter to  you,  requesting  that  you  would  place  the  subject 
before  the  eyes  of  your  honorable  House.  I  had  the 
satisfaction  to  see  that  my  letter  was  promptly  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Agriculture.  Encouraged  by  this  favor- 
able token,  and  determined  that  no  effort  should  be  want- 
ing, on  my  part,  to  promote  so  important  a  measure,  I 
resolved  to  accompany  Mr  D'Homergue  to  this  city,  that 
he  and  I  might  be  on  the  spot  to  give  to  the  members  all 
the  explanations  that  they  might  require.  We  attended, 
together  the  Committee  on  Agriculture,  who  brought  in 
the  former  bill  with  a  report  not  less  favorable  to  it  than 
that  of  their  predecessors.  The  order  of  the  House, 
which  soon  after  followed,  to  place  that  bill  among  the 
special  orders  of  the  day,  convinced  me  of  the  high  im- 
portance which  they  attach  to  the  subject  ;  and  I  should 
not  think  it  necessary  to  trouble  them  or  you  with  this 
letter,  if  the  session  were  not  so  far  advanced,  and  the 
prospect  of  the  bill  being  taken  into  consideration  du- 
ring its  continuance  diminishing  every  day.  At  any 
rate,  the  part  I  have  taken  in  this  business,  in  consequence 
of  the  facts  I  have  stated,  and  which  I  have  continued  to 


97 


take  as  long  as  my  means  would  permit,  until  prudence 
warns  me  to  desist,  if  the  House  should  postpone  its 
decision  to  another  session,  will,  I  hope,  be  accepted  as 
an  apology  for  what  otherwise  might  be  considered  as  an 
officious  unwarranted  intrusion. 

I  beg  to  be  permitted  to  take  this  opportunity  to  say, 
from  my  own  observation,  and  the  information  of  others, 
and  particularly  of  editors  of  newspapers,  who,  by  ex- 
changing their  journals,  have  the  best  means  of  knowing 
the  feelings  of  the  people  at  large,  the  measure  contem- 
plated by  this  bill  is  highly  popular  among  all  classes  of 
men,  but  particularly  the  agriculturalists  throughout  the 
whole  Union  ;  and  I  am  satisfied  that,  if  passed  into  a 
law,  it  will  give  general  satisfaction.  I  am  further  convinc- 
ed of  this,  and  that  the  postponement  of  the  bill  will  cause 
great  disappointment  among  the  farmers  who  have  turn- 
ed their  thoughts  to  the  silk  culture,  by  the  letters  which 
I  receive  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  which  gener- 
ally end  with  the  query,  whether  there  will  be  a  market  for 
cocoons  this  year  at  Philadelphia?  which  question  I  am 
unable  to  answer.  This  inquiry  has  lately  been  made 
by  the  inhabitants  of  the  silk  district  in  Connecticut, 
who,  two  years  ago,  were  unwilling  to  sell  their  cocoons, 
because  they  thought  they  could  manufacture  them  to 
better  advantage,  but  now  appear  to  entertain  a  different 
opinion.  From  the  soutliern  States,  similar  inquiries  are 
made  ;  and,  since  1  have  been  in  this  city,  I  have  been 
informed  that  cocoons  had  been  sent  for  sale  to  Philadel- 
phia from  North  and  South  Carolina,  but  could  find  no 
purchaser,  as  it  would  be  idle  in  me  to  purchase  that 
produce,  to  throw  away  afterwards,  if  the  silk  bill  shall  not 
pass.  I  ought  to  add  that  several  State  Legislatures  have 
made  laws  to  encourage  the  culture  of  the  mulberry  tree, 
and  the  breeding  of  silk  worms,  in  contemplation  of  the 
passing  of  that  bill.  I  fear  that  if  a  check  be  given  to 
this  strong  impulse  by  the  discontinuing  of  a  market  for 
cocoons,  it  will  be  difficult  hereafter  to  revive  it;  and, 
without  the  silk  bill,  I  do  not  see  how  that  market  can  be 
continued. 


98 


As  I  was  going  to  conclude  this  letter,  T  received,  from 
Philadelphia,  extracts  from  a  series  of  public  documents 
lately  presented  to  the  American  Philosophical  Society, 
by  Don  J.  M.  Tornel,  late  minister  from  Mexico  to  the 
United  States.  Among  those  documents,  are  official  re- 
ports, in  which  it  is  stated  that  the  wantof  the  knowledcre 
of  the  art  of  reeling  is  the  only  thing  that  prevents  the 
culture  of  silk  from  flourishing  in  that  Republic  ;  and  I 
ought  to  add,  that  it  is  known  to  me  that  overtures  have 
been  made  to  Mr  Homergue,  on  the  part  of  that  Gov- 
ernment, to  induce  him  to  enter  into  their  service. 

Thus,  sir,  three  foreign  Governments  have  endeavored 
to  obtain  the  aid  of  Mr  D'Homergue  to  introduce  or  per- 
fect the  art  of  reeling  silk  among  them.  This  shows  that 
it  is  not  so  easy,  as  some  have  imagined,  to  obtain  per- 
sons thus  qualified  from  other  countries  :  and  that  this 
nation  is  possessed  of  an  opportunity,  which,  if  it  should 
suffer  to  escape,  it  may  long,  very  long,  have  cause  to  re- 
gret hereafter. 

The  only  object  of  this  letter  is  to  endeavor  toconvince 
your  honorable  House  of  the  high  importance  of  this  bill, 
in  the  confident  expectation  that  it  will  be  finally  acted 
upon  by  Congress  at  the  present  session.  In  doing  so,  I 
conceive  I  am  performing  a  duty,  which,  if  I  were  to 
neglect,  I  would  have  cause  to  reproach  myself  for  it  for- 
ever after. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect,  sir, 
Your  most  obedient  and  very  humble  servant, 

PETER  S.  DU  PONCEAU. 

Note.  It  h  well  known  that  M-  Du  Ponceau's  lii!!  w.is  rejected 
in  tlie  House  of  Representatives,  by  a  niiijority  of  seventeen  votes. 
What  the  piinci|)al  objections  to  it  were,  I  do  not  know.  But  as 
the  popular  voice  calls  loudly  for  legislative  encouratjemont,  it  is 
nol  imp:obable  that  some  future  Congress  may  enact  suitable  pro- 
visions on  the  subject. 


n  I 


V 


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